I went to jail last night

Last night our citizens police academy group took a field trip to the Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility. It was eye-opening, exciting, depressing, and fascinating all at once. Sheriff Doc Holladay welcomed us into a room with a couple of long tables set up and went over some background information and ground rules while we were served dinner—the exact meal the inmates had been served that evening. The meal came in a hard plastic tray and consisted of a mystery meat patty, some yellowish mashed potatoes swimming in gravy, cooked carrots, a roll, and cornbread. Each meal only costs 89 cents (which made me feel a little better considering most of the food our group was served ended up in the trash can.) The daily meals are very specifically designed to meet certain nutritional criteria—2300 calories for an inmate who is active (has a job of some sort within the facility) or 2100 calories for an inmate who is sedentary.

Sheriff Holladay blessed the food for us (the Lord knows that food needed some blessing), then told us a little about the facility. It’s HUGE. I wish I’d had a tape recorder with me so I could verify all the facts, but I believe he said it’s over 400,000 square feet. It holds 1,200 inmates, and they’re nearly at capacity. They have some juveniles in the 14-17 age range who are being tried as adults. They have seven pregnant inmates currently. The facility is basically a small, concrete town: they have medical services, a library (where inmates often go to read up on the legal system and prepare for their cases), a commissary, a huge kitchen, and laundry facilities with machines that can handle about 600 pounds of laundry at a time. Whew. Imagine doing laundry for 1,200 inmates. In our house, it only feels like I’m doing laundry for that many people because my kids think that if a piece of clothing touches any part of their body for any amount of time, it’s automatically dirty.

Anyway, Sheriff Holladay warned us that we might overhear inmates saying things that aren’t very nice and mentioned that they tend to show off a bit when new people come around. He asked us to please not engage them in conversation and to make sure we still had our phones with us when we left the prisoner units. Wait, what? I didn’t realize we were actually going to be in there with the inmates. The sheriff told us that the inmates weren’t segregated based on crimes, meaning a rapist or murderer might be strolling about in the unit with a person who hasn’t paid their traffic fines. There would be no way for us to know which was which when we were in there with them.

Our tour guide for the evening was Toni Rose, captain of security and housing. She’s been there over 20 years, and while you can tell that she has a sweet side, she also has to be tough as nails to do what she does. When asked if anyone had ever attacked her, she showed us a scar on her hand where she’d been bitten.

The tour started with a trip past the room where deputies control all of the cell locks and video cameras for the facility. Then we toured the kitchen and laundry room where piles and piles of orange and blue jumpsuits were stacked and waiting to be used. One staff member told us that he has to order about 300 new jumpsuits every few weeks.

The first unit we went into was a unit for the boys under 18 who are being tried as adults. They’re kept in a separate unit from the men, and their crimes are pretty serious. We didn’t go very far past the entrance because one boy was taking a shower, and the shower doors are only partial doors. A few of the boys were in the courtyard, which is a big concrete block with a chain link roof and a basketball hoop on one wall. We (and the guards) could watch them through glass. They didn’t really pay much attention to us at all. I was sad to see these kids throwing a basketball around just like it was a normal Tuesday night at the park, but really life is anything but normal for these kids who have already made terrible life decisions due to drugs, gangs, etc. Captain Rose told us that they don’t try to separate gang members from rival gangs—all the Crips and Bloods are mixed together in the units—but they do ask each inmate if he has any personal enemies who are already there, and they make sure to keep them in separate units.  

Next we went into a men’s unit. Policy says there must be one officer on duty for every 80 inmates. I believe this particular unit had about 96 men, so there were two officers over it. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t like those odds if I were one of the officers! We trooped into the unit and had a look around. It looked a lot like the one we had just come out of, but we were able to walk in a little farther and see a little more. Each unit is two floors. The bottom floor is a common area where men can watch TV, play checkers, or go outside to the concrete courtyard. Cells line the walls on the lower and upper floor. Fencing has been installed throughout the stairways and upper railings to keep anyone from trying to commit suicide.

The men in this unit seemed far more interested in our group’s presence. The ones inside looked up from their TV and games and seemed genuinely curious. Several who were in the courtyard wandered over to the glass and began peering through it and pointing at us. I glanced over, and a couple of them waved at me. I felt really uncomfortable, but I didn’t want to seem like a snob or like we were a group of tourists coming to look at them like animals in a zoo. So I gave them a quick wave back. That was probably a mistake. For the next ten minutes, they seemed to be playing a game of trying to see who could get me to wave at them. One of the ladies in the group turned to me with a frown and said, “I think they’re waving at you.” I purposefully kept my eyes averted and told her I was going to pretend to be in deep conversation with her until we left.

Strangely enough, I really didn’t feel frightened of the men. The women were another story. When we went into one of the women’s units, they were being pretty rowdy. A couple of them were having a very vocal argument about something, so we hung back for a few minutes waiting for things to settle down. Rather than being curious about our presence, the women seemed annoyed that we were there. They were lined up with cups of water, ready to get their daily dose of medications from the nurse. Apparently nearly every inmate is on medication of some sort. Captain Rose told us that the women weren’t allowed to have makeup, but we noticed a few that seemed to have on lipstick or eyeshadow. Captain Rose told us that they buy skittles or M&Ms from the commissary and use the color from the candies as makeup. She also told us that she very much prefers working with the men than with the women. “The women are so whiny,” she said.

The next unit we ventured into was the scariest by far—the isolation unit. This unit is used not because of the severity of the crime that got the person put into jail in the first place, but is based on their behavior once they get here. Inmates can be sent to the isolation unit anywhere from five days to 180 days if they’re really causing problems (attacking officers, for example.) The inmates in the isolation unit are locked in their cells 23 hours a day. Each door has a slot where their food is delivered. They heard us come in, and a few peered at us through the tiny window in their door. Then the yelling started. And the banging. It sounded like wild animals, and one inmate getting riled up caused all of the others to get riled up. It felt like a very dark and depressing place, and I was thankful to leave.

We also took a tour through Intake, which is an offender’s first stop when they arrive. This is the place where the officers do their paperwork to admit someone, and it’s where the inmates are fingerprinted, searched, photographed, and placed in a holding cell while they wait to see if they’ll make bail or change into a uniform for a longer stay. Several people were being processed when we got there. One girl (and I say girl because she looked like she couldn’t have been over 18), was wearing a green tunic rather than the standard orange or blue jumpsuit. Captain Rose explained that she was a suicide risk. Each person gets asked a series of questions, and depending on how they answer, they can be flagged as a suicide risk. In those cases, they’re dressed in a green tunic and sent to a cell with only a blanket, no bed. This particular girl looked so sad to me. I wondered what her story was and what had led her to this place and to whatever poor choices she had made.

One guy was handcuffed to a little nook in the wall while he waited. Captain Rose explained that he might be there for a couple of hours. He shouted back, “Five hours so far!” But if he was looking for sympathy from our group, he wasn’t going to get it. Hopefully the experience will be unpleasant enough that it will keep him from wanting to come back. The reality though is that 50% of the inmates will be back within three years—that’s what Sheriff Holladay told us.

Like I said, it was fascinating, but also pretty heartbreaking. Sheriff Holladay admitted that while they provide many programs to allow inmates to improve themselves (such as classes on conflict resolution, parenting,  finances, etc), there isn’t a lot of rehabilitation going on. Captain Rose said when she first started working there, her heart would break for the women who were sobbing things like, “I miss my baby!” Once she saw those same women come through for the second, third, or fourth time, she had to acknowledge to herself that if these women really missed their babies that much, they wouldn’t keep doing the things they’re doing. So what makes a person return to a life of crime over and over again? I have no idea. But I do know what can keep them from returning to a life of crime over and over again: nothing but a powerful, life-changing encounter with the God of the universe, who can take their cold, hardened hearts and make them new. I’m saying a prayer for all 1,100+ inmates of the Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility, that the truth would set them free.

My ride-along with an officer

Last night I spent four hours in a police car with Officer Morris, driving through the streets of Sherwood keeping an eye out for bad guys... and mischievous animals (but more on that later.) Sherwood is divided into three sections: South, Central, and North. We were assigned to Central, which just happens to be my stomping grounds. There weren't a lot of calls coming in (perhaps everyone was being on their best behavior for Mother's Day), so we drove in and out of neighborhoods keeping an eye out for anything that looked suspicious, watching for speeders, and calling in occasional license plates. After we stopped to help a guy on Kiehl who had spilled a bunch of junk from the back of his truck onto the road, we assisted with a minor accident at 107 and Brockington, and then Officer Morris asked me if there was anywhere in particular I wanted to go.

"We could go down my road," I suggested. "Ooh! I could text my husband and have him tell the kids to look out the window so they can see me driving by in a cop car and looking cool!"

Officer Morris was totally on board with my dorky request, and he said we could even stop for a few minutes to give the kids sticker badges and let them play with the blinky blue lights. I suddenly had this weird sense that he had somehow seen my facebook post from earlier that day. I had posted about getting ready for my ride-along, and my exact words were: "Think they'll give me a badge to wear for the evening? Or let me press the buttons to turn on the flashing blue lights?" I was amused that he was offering these options for my kids. I guess he thought I was too mature to want to press the buttons myself. So we stopped by the house, and the kids got to climb into the car and try out the lights and even the siren, very briefly. 

They thought it was so cool. Score one for Mom!

I gave the kids hugs and kisses and told them good night, then we set off on our next adventure. A couple calls came in: one was a medical emergency in a home, and the other was something about a crazy guy in the grass. Not sure what that was all about. The next call was the one we responded to, and it was about a big, mean raccoon hanging out on a balcony at an apartment complex. Officer Morris knew exactly where to go. He had dealt with this same call and same raccoon previously. Basically, this repeat offender has claimed a certain apartment building as his home. For some reason, animal control hasn't been able to catch him yet, and for some reason, animal control likes to have an officer presence when tenants call about the raccoon. 

We pulled into the apartment complex, and sure enough, the raccoon was exactly where Officer Morris said he would be. We parked and shined the spotlight on him. Moments later, another officer pulled in, so we all got out and stared at the raccoon for awhile. I actually think raccoons are pretty adorable, but this one was really large and feisty, and he had his eyes on us. He was sitting on a ledge just outside of one apartment where a visitor and his dog were stuck because they didn't want to come outside with the raccoon only steps away hissing at them. So the other officer decided to take matters into his own hands and see if he could get the raccoon to leave. He grabbed a broom and walked up to the second floor balcony and poked at the perpetrator. The raccoon ROARED. That's the only way I can describe it. I've never heard an animal make a noise like that. The officer scurried back down to where we were, and we continued staring at the beast from below. 

A few minutes later, another officer showed up--this time, a female. She admitted she came because she was bored and wanted to see the raccoon. When she heard that the other officer had tried unsuccessfully to get it to come down, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She walked up to the second floor balcony, grabbed the broom, and nudged the raccoon until it took a flying leap toward the ground. I had a brief moment of wondering if the raccoon might come straight for us (is this why they told me to wear close-toed shoes?) but instead he landed in the bushes and scurried away. We all patted ourselves on the backs for showing another Sherwood ruffian who's the boss, and we informed the trapped citizen that it was safe for him to come out now. The raccoon will be back, I'm sure, but it'll be a problem for animal control some other day. 

While we were tied up with the raccoon, another incident occurred in a church parking lot. A car was sitting in the shadows in the back of the lot, and another officer on duty just happened to see the car and decided to go check it out. There was a guy in the car doing who knows what, and the car was full of drugs. Needless to say, he got arrested, and we made our way over to see if there was anything fun left for us to do. Most of the excitement had died down by then. The car was still there waiting to be towed, so we waved goodbye to the other officer and continued on our way. 

My time was almost up, but we assisted a lady on Brockington who had run out of gas (another officer pushed her car to a nearby gas station while we provided some traffic control/protection for them), and then we escorted a tow truck to the previously mentioned drug car because he had been given the wrong location and was sitting in another church parking lot wondering where everyone was.  

I couldn't believe that my four hours were already up. I wasn't quite ready to leave! I had peppered Officer Morris with questions all evening and learned a lot about the job and how and why they do the things they do. Even though it was getting late, I felt wide awake and wouldn't have minded going on a high-speed car chase or two. But alas, it seemed that most of Sherwood was tucked safely and innocently into their beds, and it was time for me to do the same. I thanked Officer Morris for having me along for the ride, and I made sure to drive the speed limit the whole way home.

Police Academy, week one

I have a great life, and there really isn't much that I would change about it if given the chance. But my day-to-day activities are a bit... vanilla. I work. I homeschool the kids. I clean the house and cook dinner. We take walks as a family and go to church on Sunday. Then repeat. Over and over and over again. 

Now that the kids are getting a little older and a little less needy (supposedly), I'm trying to push myself as a writer. I spent about five months working on a novel (it's finished but not what I would consider publishable.) I taught a couple of writing classes to junior high and high school kids at our co-op. I got a devotional published. Now I'm trying to consider my next project, and I keep coming back to fiction writing. I love fiction. So what's the problem? It's hard to be creative and write imaginatively when your life is dull (see paragraph one.)

I decided I would try to push myself in other ways this year and attempt things that I wouldn't normally do. I'm very much an introvert and would probably be content to spend all of my free time alone on the couch or outside on our deck with a good book. But I seldom take advantage of opportunities to try new things or meet new people, which I think are key elements for fostering creativity. So I did something totally out of character: I signed up for the Sherwood citizens police academy training. 

We meet twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Last week was our first week, and I was pleasantly surprised by how interesting it was. The first night we met the chief and several officers and got to see an international gold-medalist give a self defense demonstration. Thursday night we learned some tricks of the trade for traffic stops, went outside to see a demonstration of Sherwood PD's drone, then came back in for a lecture on narcotics (they piled a table full of drugs and drug paraphernalia they had procured from various drug busts, so we got to see real examples of the things they were telling us about.)

Here's a picture the drone took of our group:

 

We have some other fun activities coming up--a K9 demonstration, a tour of the jail (I've heard rumors that they'll offer to feed us there), range time with the SWAT team, and something I'm equally excited and scared about: a drive-along next weekend in a cop car. When we signed up for drive-alongs, the officers told us to wear close-toed shoes (in case we need to run???) and warned us that if the officer gets a call that we're not allowed to go on, it's possible we could get dropped off on a street corner until they can radio someone else to come pick us up. Hmmm... what am I getting myself into? I don't know the answer to that question, but I do know that I'll take advantage of the momentary excitement and hopefully get at least a few good blog posts out of this whole experience.