Biography

Robert L. (Bob) Thornton, M.Ed is Director of Community Corrections Institute, LLC, a company dedicated to providing training and consultation specifically designed for corrections and law enforcement agencies. Previously, he served as a Pretrial, Probation, and Supervising U.S. Probation Officer for over 27 years, during which he served as a faculty member of the Federal Judicial Center and has developed, and continues to provide training in, enhanced supervision, officer safety skills, dealing with aggressive behavior, effective communication skills, and management skills. He also conducts training for the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) and the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA). He co-authored the 1993 National Institute of Corrections monograph, New Approaches to Staff Safety, and is the author of New Approaches to Safe Safety-Second Edition, released in March, 2003. He also authored the 2008 publication Guns, Safety and Proactive Supervision: Involving Probation and Parole in Project Safe Neighborhoods. He writes the “Spotlight on Safety” column for the APPA “Perspectives” magazine and has published numerous other articles on officer and staff safety. Bob also serves as a subject matter expert for the National Institute of Justice “Incident Commander” simulation training web site, the APPA On-Line Safety Training Program, and the APPA Audio Broadcast Safety Training and Firearm Interdiction Programs.

Bob also conducts agency audits for NIC and has testified as an expert witness on issues relating to officer and staff safety. He is a member of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers, Federal Probation & Pretrial Officers Association (FPPOA) and the American Probation and Parole Association, and serves as Chair of the associations Health and Safety Committee. He was the 1990 recipient of the Line Officer of the Year Award for the Western Region of the United States and the 1998 recipient of the Doyle Award, presented by FPPOA in recognition of his contributions to effective offender supervision issues. He was also the 2002 recipient of the Sam Houston State University Award presented by APPA “...in recognition of his outstanding contributions to scholarship in Community Corrections”, the 2007 Sam Houston State University Distinguished Service Award for “exceptional service and commitment to the Texas Probation Training Academy”, and the 2009 recipient of the George M. Keiser Award presented by the National Association of Probation Executives. “This award is presented to administrators who have demonstrated exceptional leadership under challenging conditions which provided value, added activity or service to the organization of community they serve.”