Trustee program rewards inmates for positive behavior

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN CYNTHIA MARTENS
Surrounded by starkly painted cinder-block walls, one to two inmates exist in small jail cells-some measuring only 8 feet by 11 feet.

At the Marion County Jail, the sterility and confinement on the second floor hang heavy like the space in an underground cave with no visible exit.

“There are very few privileges up there,” said Lee Becker, Marion County sheriff.

“Some people say they deserve only bread and water. But it could be anyone in here-sons, daughters-we’ve probably all known someone in our family who has had experience with the law of some sort.”

Whether confined to a small holding cell or in a larger bull pen-with four to eight fellow prisoners-life is not easy on the inside.

Addressing the monotony of the inmates’ existence, Becker developed the county-jail trustee program about three years ago.

A select group of inmates is permitted to leave the confinement of the cell walls to work outside on the grounds around the jail and adjoining courthouse area.

“They need to be here long enough to earn those privileges,” Becker said. “Right now, I have several inmates upstairs, and I have requests for them to do some work. But they have not been here long enough to establish a relationship-to figure out what makes them tick.”

Becker and deputy Garry Klose review each inmate’s record to decide if they are eligible to participate in the program.

“Garry has been around a long time, and I trust his judgment,” Becker said. “If someone is outside, either Garry or myself has approved them to be out there.”

After they have known inmates for at least six to eight weeks, the officers are ready to consider letting them join the program.

Becker and Klose also take into account the crimes committed. Certain crimes will define inmates as a risk to the community and will prevent them from being selected.

“Some of them do have felonies against them,” Becker said.

“However, they’re not felonies against people. Most of them are convicted of a drug crime. But there are some who would not be eligible, such as you could not have beaten a child or a person.”

The outside jobs assigned have included picking up trash, raking the grounds after maintenance crews have mown the grass, trimming bushes, sweeping sidewalks and planting bushes and flowers.

“They’re just happy to be outside,” Becker said.

A pop fund is available at the courthouse to be used toward purchasing some of the plants.

“(The courthouse) makes a little bit of money out of the pop they sell out of the machines, so that’s when they go buy flowers and stuff like that,” he said.

After a process of carefully selecting the trustees, Becker is not concerned about flight issues.

“I was raised to treat people the way I expect to be treated,” he said.

“If I treat them with respect and they treat me with respect, we’re a lot better off. And where are they going to go? They’ll be in more trouble if they walk away from here than if they stay.”

Trustees are also allowed to do work inside the jail facility-helping with laundry, meal preparation and inside maintenance.

“But mostly, it’s with outside tasks,” Becker said.

Supervision is minimal-the program is based on a system of trust.

“Sometimes they’re out there on their own,” Becker said.

“I try to go out and spot check to see they’re doing what needs to be done. Of course, there are cameras outside so we can see them, too.”

Until recently, trustees wore the same bright orange uniforms issued for their stay in the jail.

Realizing a trustee in an orange uniform could be confused with an escaped felon, Becker halted the trustee program until he could purchase new khaki shirts and pants with the words trustee written in bold black letters across the back of the shirt.

The price tag of the uniforms was about $11 each, and the money came from taxpayer funds.

“But that’s easily come back to us in what they’ve done around here,” Becker said.

Becker also sees the taxpayers reaping a savings in other ways.

“The reason I started doing this is because I walked around outside, and there were a lot of little things that needed to be done,” Becker said.

“And there’s no reason to pay someone when I have the people with the ability and desire to do it. So what we’re trying to do, in a small way, is give back a little bit of what it’s costing the community.”

Being assigned as a trustee is a popular request at the jail.

“Some of them think it’s something they can just walk in and do,” Becker said.

“But I have to know that the trustee will do what I ask, use good judgment and get good supervision-if they’re released to someone else.”

Becker evaluates the abilities of each trustee to make sure the person is suited for a particular job.

“You and I can do a job-you may do it, and it looks real nice, and I may be sloppy,” Becker said. “Well, my efforts were wasted.”

As many as four inmates have been out on work detail at one time, but Becker usually assigns two to a task.

“The natural thing is to look at them, and they look at you,” he said. “It’s kind of intimidating for a citizen to be walking by a group of four.”

Trustees are under strict instructions to be polite, say “hello” to a passer-by, but not engage in a conversation unless granted permission by jail staff.

Staff members Darrel Helmer and Marsha Pagenkopf help supervise the trustees.

Helmer gave the trustee program a thumbs up.

“They’re very cooperative and glad to help,” he said.

“It helps them, gives them something to do-some responsibility- and shows them they can achieve a job successfully without being constantly monitored.”

The trustees also have proven to be vigilant observers of their surroundings, such as spotting a child playing in the street.

“And they’ve come to us and said, ‘Hey, we’re afraid the child’s going to be hit,’ and we take care of that,” Becker said.

Work duty can begin as early as 9 a.m., and the inmates are allowed to take a lunch break at a picnic table on the grounds. A full-day of work can last as long as six hours.

“Of the six to eight months they were here, the last group was probably outside 15 to 20 days, ” Becker said.

Problems do arise when certain inmates are allowed outside and others are not given trustee privileges.

“When we’re up to 20 (inmates), it’s a problem,” Becker said. “Certain ones go out, and the rest of them are jealous.”

But Becker keeps his finger on the pulse of the jail population.

“The easiest thing to do is lock the door and leave them there,” he said. “Can you imagine spending your entire day doing nothing?

“What I’ve found is, when they start doing this, they sleep better at night and look forward to other things.”

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