Sheriff Highlights Reintegration Efforts At Chamber Breakfast
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Bowler was the keynote speaker at the Chamber of Commerce's Eggs and Issues breakfast on Tuesday. |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Sheriff Thomas Bowler boasts that in two and half years he has help given hundreds of inmates the tools they need to go into the workforce.
Bowler campaigned for Sheriff on collaborating more with other organizations to turn criminals into productive members of society.
On Tuesday, he told business leaders that since his 2010 election 63 inmates have earned their high school equivalency; 20 have landscaping certification though Berkshire Community College; eight took college courses with Williams College students; 99 have received SafeServ certification and 26 receive basic custodial training among an array of programs offered through the jail.
"Prior to being elected sheriff, my job was to protect and serve this community by arresting those who have committed crimes and make sure they stay in jail. Now my job is completely opposite," Bowler said. "I now take those individuals — believe me there are some that I have arrested in the past and am still dealing with — and get those individuals back into the community, trying to make those individuals better people now that they were."
Bowler was the keynote speaker at the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce's Eggs and Issues breakfast at the Pittsfield Country Club. He highlighted the efforts to transform the inmates into productive members of society to give those in attendance a glimpse of what happens inside the Berkshire County House of Correction.
The jail is continually adding programs to help transform the inmates, he said. However, because of fiscal restraints, they can't do it alone and increasing the number of partnerships with outside organizations have made the difference, he said.
Beyond the educational programs, the organization has recently partnered with the National Fatherhood Institute to provide parenting classes and recently partnered with Big Head Books for a literacy program that allows inmates to record themselves reading bedtime stories to their children and send them to home.
Bowler said he will be announcing yet another program involving equine therapy, making the Berkshire County House of Corrections the 10th in the nation to use horses for therapy.
Outside of the jail, the inmates have saved county taxpayers "hundreds of thousands of dollars" with community service in doing projects for various towns throughout the county, which Bowler has increased since being elected.
But, the programs they offer are not available to everyone.
"Not every person in this institution is a bad person," Bowler said. "We try to target good people."
Bowler said that not everyone "should be back out" when their time is done but some people were "just like you an I" before making some "bad choices." Those people are led allowed to go through the programs.
Judges are now more frequently throwing hitches in the plan though. Bowler said the Berkshire County House of Corrections is intended for those staying two and a half years or less but judges are more and more frequently sentencing some for longer.
"Our programs and treatments are all set up for short-term treatment," Bowler said.
He also added that while his efforts are trying to get people out of jail, the sheriff's department isn't totally gone from enforcing the law. Bowler said two members of his office are assigned to the district attorney's office; two others to the Drug Task Force and two more to a major incident tactical force.
The Eggs and Issues breakfast is intended to bring the business community together with political and social leaders to discuss issues on a personal level. United Personnel sponsored Tuesday's breakfast.
Tags: Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, breakfast, jail, sheriff,
