Inmates’ best friend
5/9/09 | 14 comments
VIDEO

Inmates’ best friend


New programs help incarcerated learn skills
By Sharon Kiley Mack
BDN Staff
BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY KEVIN BENNETT
BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY KEVIN BENNETT Somerset County jail inmate Robert Johnson plays with Max, a 10-year-old golden retriever, at the jail on Thursday. Officials at the county’s new $30 million facility say new programs, such as dog handling, in addition to training and other opportunities will make inmates better prepared for re-entering society. Buy Photo
MADISON, Maine — If you take a roguish cat, put it in a box for six months, feed it and keep it clean, it is still a roguish cat when you set it free. That was the problem with the way jails used to be run, says Maj. David Allen, the administrator of the new Somerset County Jail.

“We’ve learned over the years that simple incarceration doesn’t work. They will continue to re-offend,” Allen said.

But at the county’s new $30 million facility, the space for new programming has fostered a whole new attitude, Allen and Sheriff Barry DeLong said. They believe the new programs, opportunities, training and stimulation will allow inmates to re-enter society on a better footing.

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The new jail is offering everything from book club discussion groups to walking the dog. That’s right — walking the dog. Somerset County is the only county jail with its own inmates’ pet.

“At the old jail, we had zero, zippo programs,” DeLong said Thursday. “We couldn’t even have work crews, and we held high school classes in the visiting room.”

When the old jail was built more than 100 years ago, prisoners’ sentences were around 30 days. “They went in and out,” DeLong said. “There was no need for programs. Now, we have them for months.”

The new jail, built in the woods of east Madison, is bright and airy and colorful. It is set up in pods — large central areas with cells around the outside. There are chairs and tables, televisions and radios. A stack of games on the guards’ desk is inviting.

There are book clubs, computer classes, religious services, high school equivalency programs, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and substance abuse sessions.

“The inmates are lining up for the programs,” DeLong said. “They are jumping at the chance to improve themselves.”

But in one particular unit of the jail, it is Officer Max who is getting much of the attention. Max is a 10-year-old golden retriever, a shelter dog who lives and plays in the jail and is cared for petted and fawned over by the inmates.

Max’s presence has had a profound effect on the inmates in his pod. So much so that Allen is working on getting two more dogs for other pods.

“Max has made a huge difference,” DeLong said, “not just to the inmates, but to the employees as well. Max doesn’t judge you. He doesn’t care why you are here. He doesn’t talk behind your back. You come here, maybe you’ve been thrown out of your home. No job. Little hope. Max is comforting.”

In the three months that Max has lived in the jail, there has not been a single fight in the pod — which surprises both Allen and the inmates.

Inmate Robert Johnson of Waterville is one of Max’s first handlers.

“Max shows me that even though this is a bad place, the administration is giving us a chance to do something constructive,” Johnson said. “So when I get depressed, it’s nice to have a friend like Max. When you are in a place like this, he is comforting. Everything here is hard. Max is soft.”

Max is incredibly patient and even-tempered, Allen said. “We struck gold the first time out,” he added.

He sits with his orange toy on the floor, seeks out patting hands, nuzzles the leg of an inmate seeking a treat. “When we go in our rooms, he goes in his crate,” Johnson said.

“Even if you don’t have any friends, you can count on one — Max,” inmate Kasey Blodgett of Farmington said. Inmate Matthew Grass of Skowhegan is due to be released next week. “I’m going to miss Max,” he admitted. “He’s my homey.”

Blodgett said that through the calming influence of Max, he has been able to focus on several of the new programs at the jail, including Thresholds, which is funded by the United Way of Mid-Maine. The program teaches critical thinking and decision making that will help inmates survive and thrive outside of a jail setting.

Allen said a group of inmates also is working on a garden that can help feed the population. “We’re planting potatoes next week,” he said. An art class is in the planning stages and inmates are going to paint murals on the stark cement walls.

Inmates also participate in work crews inside and outside of the jail and work in the kitchen, preparing meals for 200 people three times a day.

“These are skills they can use in everyday life,” DeLong said.

“We try to keep them as busy as possible and help them learn as much as they can,” Allen said. “We are much more strict here than many other jails but we offer more to those who are willing to behave themselves.”

All of the new programming is paid for by the inmates themselves. “We do not have a program budget,” Allen said. By marking up commissary products by 25 percent, and upping telephone call charges by 56 percent, that money can be funneled into inmate programming.

“In addition, if there is a disciplinary issue, rather than locking down an inmate, he pays a fine,” Allen said. “We are the only county in Maine that fines its inmates, one of the many innovative ways we are doing things.”

Allen said, “We are not guards anymore. We are correctional officers. Our job is to correct behavior. We don’t look just at the act the inmate committed to become incarcerated, we look at what brought that person to that point in their life. And then we go to work to help them never come back here again.”

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Comments
14 comments on this item
On 5/8/09 at 10:09 PM, mattcarbone wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Sounds Good!

A long time ago I trained staff at one of the jails in CPR. There is very little to do. This looks like an innovative program that, hopefully, will keep some of the people from returning.

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On 5/8/09 at 10:44 PM, outlaw wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

sounds like a very good program inovative thinking id say give this a try else where let them earn there freedom .peace

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On 5/8/09 at 10:47 PM, raysgurl wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

This is innovation. I hope Allen will keep us posted on their recidivism rate. I bet is it lower than that of any other facility. It sounds like a lot of the inmates are motivated. Somehow, I don't believe it is a coincidence that so many motivated people ended up in one place.

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On 5/9/09 at 1:43 AM, GotoutofMaine wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

With all the programs they have there maybe they could spare a little more money for food for the inmates. My friend was in that jail, (his own fault yes) and I talked to him almost everyday, he was always hungry, he said they never gave them enough food. One day I he told me for lunch he got 10 noodles with a little bit of cheese on top, 7 green beans, and 1/4 of a cup of fruit salad, there's no reason for them to get so little to eat. They don't allow them to share food, so if one person doesn't want their food they just throw it away and it goes to waste. People all over the world are starving, if they can spend millions to build the jail they can at least make sure people aren't hungry 24/7 while they're in there. I agree the programs they provide are good, but they need to address the issue with such small portions of food, I think people would get a lot more out of those programs if they aren't distacted by hunger.

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On 5/9/09 at 5:38 AM, Christopher wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

The programs look great. The next step is to institute a training program for service dogs, as we've seen on Animal Planet TV at mainy prisons across the country. It takes the responsibility and bonding with a dog to the next level. And it provides a terrific public service by getting trained service dogs to the many people who need but can't afford a canine helper.

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On 5/9/09 at 6:37 AM, RogerNamVet wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Any positive story coming out of a prison sounds good to me. :)

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On 5/9/09 at 8:02 AM, smartenoughtogetit wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Way to go Max!!!

I miss you so much and still think of you every day.

Thanks to everyone who loves and cares for Max.

He's a great dog.

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On 5/9/09 at 8:48 AM, sewmama wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I agree that this sounds like a super initiative to turn these people around. Most of them are young and not really "bad" just happened to get in trouble and end up in jail. Dogs are great therapy and I also agree with Christopher who mentioned the Service Dog programs in other prisons. I have watched that program many times on Animal Planet and these dogs do wonders for the inmates. Good going Max, keep up the good works.

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On 5/9/09 at 8:15 PM, HippyKicker wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

When can I move in? Games, Tv, and pets that I can play with but don't have to feed or care for - 3 square meals a day, a safe warm place to sleep, and even a book club... Sounds better than what most Mainer's have on the outside for Cripes sake! What a joke. I bet these jerks have cable... I don't even have freakin' cable! The only thing I see that makes sense here is charging them for wrong-doings within the jail.

GotoutofMaine - seriously...? You believe that crap? They are well fed, I've never seen an inmate lose weight in jail unless they are refusing the food they are given. It already costs tax payers $80.00 a day for each dirtbag in there, what more do you want?

The old saying is "you do the crime, you do the time," Not, you do the crime, we pamper you and hope we fix all of your problems caused by lack of parenting, society, social status, lack of income, etc, etc, etc...

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On 5/10/09 at 6:30 PM, Ladyslipper wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

HippyKicker you forgot full medical and dental benefits, With a jail like this felons will be clamoring to get in.

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On 5/10/09 at 6:50 PM, CindyL wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

People who end up in jail need help to get their life back in order. This program sounds great. A lot of Maine's youth has been caught up in drug use which leads to other crimes. They need help to learn how to live agian without the use of substances. Inmates in our county jails need more opportunity to regularly attend AA/NA meetings,school and church services. I'm not surprized to hear that Max, the dog, brings such a calming affect to inmates. Pets are great therapy. We can't turn our back on people who are incarcerated in our county jails. They need help to return to society and become productive citizens who don't repeat their mistakes.

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On 5/11/09 at 11:45 AM, skyler wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

they should not be allowed to have all of these privilages, then maybe when they do get back to society they won't want to screw up again.

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On 5/11/09 at 11:47 AM, skyler wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

It makes me mad that I have to help thes people, when I am working two jobs just to keep what little I have

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On 5/11/09 at 12:06 PM, newportres wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

The only rpoblem these people have is there hasn't been a proper application of the death penalty in this State in a long time.

3 felony strikes or more than 5 trips to the jail for any reason and we should consider you to be too much of a burden to society.

Give you the black pill and a free cremation, and you will see very low rates of ricidivism real soon.

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