TIFTON — The Tift County Sheriff’s Office recently provided stab resistant body armor for the detention officers working in the jail.

TCSO has confiscated more than 100 items that could have been used to hurt a fellow inmate or an officer in the last five years, according to a press release issued by the department. These items are recovered during periodic and random searches of the facility and cells. 

Also during the same last five years, there have been six Tift County Detention Officers assaulted by inmates during the course of their duties, according to the release.

“This is nothing new,” said Tift County Sheriff Gene Scarbrough. “This has been going on for years and years.”

Scarbrough brought out a range of hand made weapons that were confiscated from the Tift County jail.

Some of the tools are made from toothbrushes or combs, both of which are plastic, and some are made of sharpened bits of metal pulled from bed frames or taken from other areas.

Arguably the most creative weapon was a sock that had been stuffed with cloth and then coated with a mixture of water and toothpaste, which, when it dried, hardened like plaster, making something that could be used like a club.

“We’re extremely vigilant about keeping this stuff out, but there’s just no way,” Scarbrough said. 

Scarbrough authorized the purchase of Stab Resistance Body Armor to be utilized by the jail staff during their tour of duty, and the vests were rolled out beginning two weeks ago.

Stab Resistance Body Armor contains body armor panels intended to provide protection against the types of knife and spike threats that detention officers face on a daily basis.

The body armor protects the vital organs and helps the detention officer avoid serious injury during a confrontation. 

Stab Resistance Body Armor also has a level of ballistic protection as well; the vest model purchased has a level IIIa, rated for several common caliber handguns.

“The deputies and officers that work on the road have been wearing body armor for years,” said Colonel Larry Taylor, chief deputy. “We’ve got detention officers that work inside a tightly confined area with inmates, and a lot of times they get overlooked because they work on the inside, but we’ve got to protect them, too, and this is a step we can take to offer a level of protection for our detention officers.”

“Even though they’re in a confined area,” Scarbrough said, “we want them to go home at the end of their shift too.

“It was just smart to go ahead and buy the vests.”

Officer Devin Butler and Officer Ariana Cordoba have both started wearing the new vests.

“Honestly, I appreciate it. It’s definitely a safety measure,” said Butler “When these inmates are making these things, they’re not making them for us, but we still have to take precautions.”

He also said that some of the inmates do make weapons to use against officers, but most of them make the weapons to use against other inmates.

Scarbrough used an innovative approach to purchase the equipment, according to the press release. Funds collected from the inmate commissary were used to pay for the protective gear without tax dollars being spent.