Last edited Thu May 8, 2014, 10:38 AM - Edit history (1)
Our sheriff uses 'solitary confinement' rarely. When he does use it, it is almost always as a response to an inmate's violent or predatory behavior. He also separates 'vulnerable' inmates from the rest of the jail population and-- common sense moment-- tries to reduce unnecessary stress by a.) feeding inmates adequate amounts of nutritious, palatable food, b.) provides inmates with the maximum amount of daily 'yard time' possible, c.) rewards inmates' GOOD behavior with increased privileges and d.) cooperated with both the States Attorney and the county's resident Presiding Judge to develop a point-based system to determine which offenders should be incarcerated pending bond, and which offenders can be released on their own recognizance (R.O.R.).
Donnie is a 'good old country boy', but he's also an intelligent, kind man. Being incarcerated is stressful, period, and there are many inexpensive, common-sense ways to reduce that stress. A full belly ('a.', supra), is one example: well-fed inmates tend to be more relaxed/less anxious. Another is his realization that the vast majority of inmates have not been convicted of a crime, and it is not his job to punish them.
Since his election in 2010, both inmate-on-inmate and inmate-on-staff violence have dropped dramatically. Although his 'food costs' have risen, the savings in emergency medical care for inmates and workman's compensation claims from injured staff members have more than offset the costs of feeding inmates.
The bottom line is, I suppose, that Donnie has taken a 'NOT 'Sheriff Joe (Arpaio)' approach to corrections, and it WORKS.
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