A Smart Use of Inmate Resources

By Jeralyn, Section Inmates and Prisons
Posted on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 11:31:20 PM EST
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Denver has come up with an innovative and smart program to cut prison overcrowding, save money and help the elderly at the same time:

Since May, Denver city jail inmates have been making weekly rounds to the homes of elderly and disabled residents who need help maintaining their yards.

"We take care of little minor issues," said Denver Sheriff's Deputy Michael Newtown. "If it's a tree branch that's fallen, or (at) a lot of homes, we'll take the trash out for them and stuff like that." This winter, they'll shovel snow.

The inmates, sentenced to the county jail for non-violent crimes like drug possession, disturbing the peace or shoplifting, volunteer for the program. If they have a ten day sentence and volunteer one day, the remainder of the sentence is deemed served. [More....]

It's positive all the way around," Newtown said. "The citizens of the community really get a benefit from it. The inmates, instead of sitting in jail, they're allowed to lessen their sentence by doing a day's work."

Currently, there are 44 people on the list for routine yard work. Newtown is responsible for 19 of those homes. Juvenile offender work crews handle the others. In addition, 80 people are on the list for snow removal.

What do the elderly homeowners think?

"They're a godsend," Narcisse said. "They're such a big help."

How do the volunteer inmates feel?

[Inmate]Ferris looked at Narcisse's now-clean yard, and he was proud. "Just being able to help somebody that can't do it themselves," Ferris said, "it gives you a good feeling knowing that you did a good deed for the day."

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A Smart Use of Inmate Resources | 2 comments (2 topical)

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I am curious. Why is the Denver (none / 0) (#1)
by oculus on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 11:51:13 PM EST

City Attorney asking for custody time on infractions?

For the record (none / 0) (#2)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Oct 24, 2008 at 04:56:27 PM EST

The inmates, sentenced to the county jail for non-violent crimes like drug possession

According to the article, that inmate was in City jail and he was in for both possession AND failure to appear.

It seems unlikely that he would have gotten any time solely for possession:

In 2005, Denver became the first major city in the U.S. to make the private use of less than an ounce of marijuana legal for adults 21 and older. The city voted 53.49%-46.51% in favor of the marijuana legalization measure. It should be noted that this initiative does not usurp state law, which currently treats marijuana possession in much the same way as a speeding ticket, with fines of up to $100 and no jail time.

None of the above, however, is meant to detract from the main point that using such inmates to help needy Denver citizens seems like a resoundingly good idea.