Law Enforcement Appreciation Week: Lt. Jason Ladner's work changing the county jail

Lt. Jason Ladner "kind of stumbled into law enforcement."

The former U.S. Army medic was looking for a job in 2005, after leaving the military, and the jail division within Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Office needed people.

"I started off in law enforcement as a corrections officer because it was a job I can go do that sounded appealing to me being, you know, military," Ladner said with a chuckle.

Ladner left the jail division in 2010, going back to school for a time and working security before returning in 2016 because he "missed it."

The jail division is often an unsung part of law enforcement, Ladner said. It's easy to see the contributions of patrolmen and detectives but not always corrections officers. For a time, the jail division was far from the most desired post in Cape Girardeau County. He described the environment as "a concrete box filled with bad guys." The jail division has had more than his fair share of challenges over the years, the lieutenant noted. At points, the division has been severely understaffed, forcing himself and others — such as Sgt. Trent Crihfield — to work upward of 80 hours a week.

Lt. Jason Ladner, right, is this year's recipient of the of the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Office's Timothy J. Ruopp Award. Sgt. Trent Crihfield, left, Julie Mansfield and Ethan Garnett (not pictured), were given Copeland Excellence awards.Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Office

"If he (Ladner) was hourly, the county would be broke because of the amount of work he puts in," Crihfield said.

The jail division was down to a mere 13 employees in early 2020, shortly after Crihfield first started. The target number of personnel to keep the place running smoothly is 44.

The "concrete box" was dealing with an exodus of officers. For a significant amount of time, the jail was considered not an optimal posting in the sheriff's department. Ladner challenged himself to reverse that moniker.

There were many facets to his approach, trying to trim whatever fat was in the division and making the process for booking more streamlined, among other things. Trying to make at least some part of work fun for the officers was a goal. That could mean cracking jokes or buying lunch for his crew for a morale boost. Chief among his approaches was to focus on building relationships not just with his employees but their families as well.

Crihfield said his wife was not particularly pleased with his hours when he first arrived. His time spent away from home was adding undue stress, and they had even had conversations about him quitting. She didn't want his work ethic to be taken advantage of, Crihfield said.

Ladner told Crihfield, and the others, to give their family the lieutenant's number. Ladner had a conversation with Crihfield's wife and told her he wanted him around because he was a valuable member of the team and when Crihfield was there, so was the lieutenant.

Leading from the front

Ladner said he tries to lead by example. He's not content to be an 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. desk supervisor who can only be seen during the week. If there is a difficult situation with an inmate, a cell cleaning no one wants to do, Ladner will be the first one to take charge, he said.

"He is a 'lead from the front,' kind of person," Crihfield said.

Leading from the front sometimes means missing things such as Christmas morning and his children's birthdays, but if he is asking those under him to do it; he better be willing to do it himself, Ladner said.

Another passion of Ladner's is making sure his officers are able to leave the day's stresses at the door.

Ladner developed a technique to aid in officers being able to leave work pressure behind. Whenever they leave he tells them to grab an object — a tree or a cardboard box — focus all the bad stuff, the stressors, the events of the jail, and bring them to mind. Then, leave those thoughts with the object.

"I think that tactile thing just kind of helps you put it all together," Ladner said.

Ladner was most recently honored for his work with the jail division receiving the Timothy J. Ruopp award, the highest honor given by the sheriff's office. It was a surprise for the lieutenant. He didn't know he was getting the award until his name was called at the banquet.

"It was funny seeing him go from like, you know, probably thinking it was someone else ... to the slow realization that he won the award," Crihfield said.

It's an honor that's well deserved, Crihfield said. Crihfield also received an honor at the banquet. The sergeant was the recipient of the Copeland Excellence award for his work with the jail division.

Ladner was more than pleased with the honor, but he doesn't need it to motivate him, he said. He's fine with being unsung, serving the community and his officers and improving the jail.