Rankin County Sheriff, Bryan Bailey has one of the most successful non-violent offenders jail programs in the state, and state leaders are said it could serve as a model for other criminal justice programs in the state.<\/p>\n “My first year that I was elected in 2012\u00a0God opened my eyes,” Bailey said during the policy summit<\/a>\u00a0recently\u00a0with local, national and municipal\u00a0officials discussing ways to better the city of Jackson through\u00a0education, public safety<\/a> and workforce development.<\/p>\n After reviewing the turn around rate for inmates Bailey created the\u00a0Sheriff’s\u00a0Trustee Program for inmates to better prepare them for after their release\u00a0from jail.<\/p>\n “The program is joined together with the district attorney, judge and the sheriff’s office,” Bailey said.\u00a0“All non-violent offenders are sentenced to\u00a0the program to serve\u00a01 to 5 years in the county jail.”<\/p>\n Bailey teamed up Hinds Community College through the Accelerate Recovery Program\u00a0to provide financial literacy, GED and college courses for inmates to be prepared to become\u00a0self sufficient after serving their\u00a0jail time.<\/p>\n “Education is\u00a0important not only to inmates in the program\u00a0but the city as a whole,” Bailey said.\u00a0“About 50% of people in the Rankin County jail will come back to jail if we don’t continue to provide them with the tools needed to thrive outside of jail.”<\/p>\n Forest Thigpen, senior advisor\u00a0for Empower Mississippi, a lobbying group that advocates for education issues,\u00a0said jails are not just meant to punish\u00a0inmates but to save them as well.<\/p>\n “The proper roll for\u00a0government is to\u00a0protect public safety,” Thigpen said.\u00a0“Locking up more people to bring down the crime rate isn’t working.”<\/p>\n Thigpen said that treating every criminal the same is an unjust solution<\/p>\n “We can’t treat everyone that commits a crime as if they are a danger to society as well as some who are incarcerated,” Thigpen said. “Let’s give them what they need through reforms and try to\u00a0move forward.”<\/p>\n