New hire at Whitley County Detention Center comes home to serve community

One Whitley County native has come home to work and serve in the community.

Andrew Fuson (left) and Whitley County Jailer Brian Lawson (Right)

Whitley County Jailer Brian Lawson announced that Andrew Fuson has been hired on at the Whitley County Detention Center.

Fuson comes to the detention center with a wealth of knowledge and training, Lawson said.

“Personally, I am excited about it,” said Lawson. “I think it is going to be a great thing for our detention center. He is going to bring some new ideas and incorporate that into our daily activities here.”

With his experience and his education, Fuson was hired as a colonel and will be third in command at the detention center.

Fuson’s duties will include overseeing everyday operations, detention center employees, and all things concerning inmates.

“We are fortunate to make this hire and bring him on board,” said Lawson.

Fuson made the career transition after working at the Federal Bureau of Prisons in McCreary County for seven years.

“For the past year, I have been evaluating the current career that I had with the Federal Bureau of Prisons,” said Fuson. “I have had a yearning desire to do something locally – to do something that is going to utilize my experience and education to help build the community.”

Fuson said he set aside his career at the prison because of his desire to serve the local community.

“I drive down the roads everyday – the same roads that everybody else does – and I see, unfortunately, the individuals that walk up and down it that have drug addictions. My children go to school with their children, and it is sad,” he explained.

Fuson plans to utilize his previous experiences to help serve the community in a number of ways. One way will be facilitating Moral Reconation Therapy courses.

“One of the things I am going to be doing here is actually facilitating MRT [Moral Reconation Therapy] classes, and that is an opportunity for me to help with the rehabilitation of these individuals,” said Fuson. “If I am able to connect with them and then also help improve and build the motivation with the staff, then that is a positive direction toward helping the community as a whole.”

His former experience was not just at the prison, but extends further back into his career.

Fuson joined the Marine Corp from 2003-2007. He was a squadron leader and deployed twice to Iraq. He eventually decided to return to the military and joined the Navy where he served as an aviation ordnanceman before being placed in charge of damage control, a role which Fuson said will directly correlate with the assistance he can provide in the maintenance room at the detention center.

After serving a tour with the Navy, Fuson joined the team at the McCreary federal prison.

At the prison, he served as a correctional officer for five years before being promoted and served as a case management treatment specialist.

“As a correctional officer, I have had to respond to numerous emergency situations, whether it be medical, whether it be fights, whether it be inmates barricading themselves within a cell we have done calculated use of forces, we have done immediate use of forces, and having to maintain policies set forth by the U.S. government and those guidelines,” Fuson explained. “I have been assaulted numerous times, and I have been able to develop communication skills to be able to deter any kind of emergency situation when possible.”

“I felt a strong desire to transition into this institution – into this facility – to help the community with all that in mind,” said Fuson. “It was fulfilling when an inmate would sit in front of me and I was able to look at his disciplinary history and the lack of programs that he was taking and to be able to explain things and break it down to him to put his priorities in perspective for his life. That was fulfilling when I could see a genuine change made in the inmates, but those inmates were from all over the country. Some of them were from Kentucky and Tennessee.”

At the detention center, Fuson will bring not only his workforce experiences but numerous degrees to help accomplish his number one goal of safety, security and accountability.

He has a bachelor’s degree in emergency management and homeland security, a Master’s degree in justice administration with a focus in corrections, and a Master’s degree in teaching.

He is currently pursuing a PhD in Leadership with a focus in justice administration through the University of the Cumberlands.

“My number one goal here is safety, security, and accountability,” said Fuson. “We directly impact the community. We have to make sure that all these inmates are safe and secure. We have to make sure that all of our staff is safe and secure.”

The accountability of inmates, equipment, staff and staff retention are also goals Fuson wants to improve upon.

“We get our funding from the county, and I want to make sure the county is getting what they are paying for – quality trained staff that can do the job to support the county,” said Fuson.

He officially began working at the detention center on Oct. 18.