March 4, 2024
By: Dwayne Page
As DeKalb County plans for what, where, and how to fund new jail facilities, should it also be doing more to seek or support programs and resources designed to help rehabilitate inmates to keep them from returning to jail.
During last Tuesday night’s Jail Committee meeting, County Commissioner Beth Pafford said studies show that DeKalb County has the highest incarceration rate of any county in the area our size and that drugs and probation violations top the list of criminal court filings here. Pafford suggested that programs to help inmates stay out of jail are worth looking into.
“Our incarceration rate is at 7.67 per 1,000 people,” said Commissioner Pafford. “The next nearest county is Smith County, and they incarcerate 5.41. Are we wanting to help people come out (of jail) and be productive citizens or is it just a place to put people to punish? It can operate as both,” said Pafford. “Should we think that just putting people in jail causes them to make better choices when they come out than they did before they went in? There are programs in which you can get grants and things for facilities that help support rehabilitation”.
Jim Hart, Jail Consultant and Field Manager of the County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) updated the jail committee in January on the county’s jail assessment and CTAS recommendations in a revised study. During his presentation, Hart talked about available resources to help reduce recidivism.
“Every inmate that comes into custody should be given a classification assessment which identifies the specific risks and needs,” said Hart. “The risks assessments include escape risks, violent and sexual predators, and others who are a danger or threat to the facility. The needs assessments include the mental health needs, elderly, advanced stages of pregnancy, etc. We try to house them according to those risks and needs to ensure the safety and security of everyone. You have a difficult time doing that in this particular facility because the nature of its design and the number of the inmates you have in custody,” explained Hart.
“In the last two years there has been so much money that has been filtered down to local counties to support evidenced based and job training programs. There is just a myriad of different programs and opportunities that exist to help try to get offenders something or some hope to help better get them released into the community and hopefully not to recidivate and come back into custody. You just don’t have the space or opportunity to provide for those type of services or programs in your particular facility,” explained Hart.
“Through a county corrections partnership or criminal justice coordinating committee, you could consider trying to implement a Stepping up Initiative, which is a national effort to reduce the number of people in jail with mental illnesses. Do you know how many people in your jail have been diagnosed with a serious mental illness? That might be something to know or something you could look at and what kind of resources could be provided to the jail or community to address those issues,” said Hart.
“There are tier one and tier two accreditation initiatives through the Tennessee Corrections Institute that looks at evidence-based programs, job training, staff development, partnerships with local community members and collaborations to address needs of those in custody inside the local jail. You could do a needs assessment and possibly use opioid abatement funding to support certain initiatives. The idea is to not just say that we have a jail overcrowding problem and need new jail construction but to address other opportunities and think about the whole system to better manage it,” said Hart.