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BradleySheriff.com
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INMATES OFFER BENEFITS TO COMMUNITY |
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Thursday, 06 August 2009 |
One of our greatest success stories here at the BCSO continues to be the Inmate Work Program. The main objectives of the Program are to provide beneficial services to the citizens of Bradley County, save taxpayers’ money and instill a sense of accomplishment and self worth in inmates who otherwise may not receive much positive reinforcement.
Only low risk inmates are allowed to participate in the Program and they are well supervised when they are away from the Justice Center. Inmates who qualify, are given an opportunity to spend time outside in the fresh air and perform many useful services that would otherwise have to be done by the county’s maintenance and roads department. In addition to many other tasks, litter pick-up crews clear rubbish and scrap rubber from public roadways. Bradley County is an important interchange for big, over-the-road trucks and at times the trucks’ huge tires shred and peel, leaving scraps of rubber in the road and along the shoulders, berms and spillways. Inmates are a tremendous help keeping the highways safe, clean and clear of obstructions.
There are several work crews out performing a wide range of other duties throughout Bradley County. One crew works full time at the Tri State Exhibition Center, one crew assists the Road Department, one crew helps maintain our fleet at the BCSO garage and two crews perform roadside and litter cleanup, painting brickwork at schools, etc.
The inmate garden has also been a great success. The garden is located here on the grounds of the Justice Center and is even larger than last year. Inmates plant, tend and harvest the garden, and the fresh vegetables are used to help supplement the menu in the jail kitchen. Crops include cucumbers, tomatoes, okra, beans and other vegetables. The benefits of fresh vegetables in the inmates’ diet and the saving to taxpayers in reduced food costs are an added benefit.
Inmates also perform many functions inside the jail, as well. They are responsible for cleaning, sweeping, mopping and waxing floors, cooking and washing dishes in the kitchen, doing laundry, painting, disinfecting the common areas, sorting commissary items and many other duties as needed.
Both inside and outside the Justice Center complex, I have found that inmates do a good job and bring a positive attitude to any task to which they are assigned. Again, allowing qualified inmates to work in the community and in the jail not only saves taxpayer money, it offers them a sense of purpose during their incarceration. Many prisoners desire to use their jail time doing something constructive and the Inmate Work Program helps them do just that. It is a positive experience for everyone involved and my congratulations go out to the deputies who administer the program and the inmates who participate.
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