Summary

Access an on-demand webinar from LexisNexis® and the American Jail Association (AJA) featuring Gerard Horgan, a retired special sheriff and superintendent with more than 30 years of correctional facility leadership experience. This program examines how correctional administrators can protect the constitutional rights of incarcerated individuals while reducing operational risk and legal exposure.

Drawing on recent court decisions from jurisdictions across the United States, the webinar delivers practical, real-world guidance to help strengthen policies, improve staff training and support compliant day-to-day operations. The focus is on proactive risk management strategies that promote safer facilities, humane treatment and defensible practices.

Key topics include:

• Legal vulnerabilities in jail operations based on recent case law
• Providing constitutionally adequate medical and mental health care
• Reducing suicide and self-harm risk
• Developing, reviewing and enforcing use-of-force policies
• Accommodating religious rights and special dietary requirements
• Using technology to expand access to courts and programming, including multilingual access
   

Speaker

Gerard Horgan served as Superintendent of Jail Operations and Special Sheriff at the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office from 2013 to 2018, overseeing all uniformed personnel, programs, medical and mental health services, HR, fiscal operations, legal functions and classification staff. He managed daily facility operations and acted as a liaison to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and the courts.

Horgan spent more than 25 years with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, holding leadership roles including Director of Human Resources, Deputy Superintendent and Superintendent and Special Sheriff at both the Nashua Street Jail and the South Bay House of Correction.

Currently serving on the Governor’s Special Commission on Correctional Funding in Massachusetts, Horgan supported compliance efforts related to the Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2018 and provides consulting services to sheriff’s offices nationwide on legal and operational matters.