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| Inmate Program Helps Keep Ark. County Growing |
| By Morning News |
| Published: 08/06/2003 |
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Since its inception in 1998 by former Benton County Sheriff Andy Lee, the Inmate Community Work Program has contributed thousands of man-hours in labor to the Benton County infrastructure. Deputy Tom Brewster, public information officer for the sheriff's office, said that just in the past nine months, inmates have worked 15,000 hours, including pouring 3,500 feet of sidewalks in Bentonville and Pea Ridge, cleaning up and repairing damage done by storm and winter damage, cleaning out drainage ditches, maintaining parks, renovating the Decatur administration building for a sheriff's sub-station, picking up 50,790 pounds of trash along roads and highways, and recycling 900 pounds of aluminum cans. Brewster said the inmate workers saved the county $90,000 in labor over a nine months. 'A lot of stuff in the county wouldn't get done without them,' said Brewster. 'They are doing good for the community.' The program is the brainchild of Curtis Wilson, a retired employee of the Benton County Road Department. 'I felt there was a need in the county to put these guys to work,' said Wilson. He, and Gary Black, who is now county judge, convinced Lee that putting the inmates to work would benefit not only the county, but also the inmates. 'The prisoners don't sit around getting bored, restless, and thinking about ways to escape,' said Brewster. The first job for the inmates was cleaning up the Benton County Fairgrounds in Bentonville. Then they started building sidewalks in Bentonville. 'These guys just love to work,' said Wilson who still runs the program. He chooses the jobs, picks out the workers, and gets the necessary equipment. By law, the inmates can work only on public works projects. They are not allowed to do jobs for private citizens. Brewster said the inmates volunteer for the program, and there is a lot of competition between the inmates to get chosen for work details. To get on the program, an inmate must be serving time for a non-violent crime. 'We don't let murderers, sex offenders or flight risks on the details,' said Brewster. That's not to say some inmates haven't used the work details to escape. Brewster said two years ago an inmate cleaning up the fairgrounds had a friend pick him up in a car. He was captured a day later. Brewster said that this is rare, and most of the inmates behave themselves, because they want to work. 'It's a chance for them to get outdoors, smoke a cigarette, and do something good. They know this is a good deal and, if one guy screws up, they will all pay the price,' said Brewster. Wilson is really proud of the Benton County Women's Shelter Thrift Store at 1639 N. Arkansas St. in Rogers. The building was constructed entirely with inmate labor. 'We saved over $200,000 in labor cost because of these guys,' said Wilson. The program has one more benefit, according to Brewster. It is a way to train some of the inmates in skills they can use after they serve their time. Brewster said some of these guys never held jobs before they went to jail. After serving on the work program, they have usable skills. Brewster said inmates have helped build several Habitat for Humanity houses. The foreman on the job hired several of the inmates as carpenters after they got out of jail. Brewster said he is working on a recidivism study of the program to see how well it works in rehabilitating prisoners. 'I believe that a very small percentage of them come back to us after working in the program,' said Brewster. Current Sheriff Keith Ferguson is very pleased with the program and will continue it, said Brewster. 'It gives these guys a sense of accomplishment, and people really appreciate the work they do,' said Brewster. |
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