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Matters of trust
The lights at Whistle Stop Christmas. The bricks at the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum. Maintenance of 30 cemeteries. All work completed by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office trustys — and just a few examples of the work they do. “Not having trustys would be a big hurt,” said Chief Deputy Tom Craig. “They are necessary in any jail. A jail cannot operate without trustys.”
The program can benefit government agencies and nonprofits. “This program is good for the county and good for the inmates,” Johnson County Sheriff Bob Alford said.
Different duties
The trusty program was established in 1997, and an average of about 60 inmates are assigned to trusty status, Craig said.
Outdoor crews are for inmates with lesser charges. They are the ones who can be seen wearing orange jumpsuits around Johnson County.
Certified correctional officers accompany the trustys who work outside of the jail facilities.
The biggest portion of Deputy Jim Sloan’s crew’s work maintains about 30 cemeteries from about March to October.
“They just do the maintenance and mowing, which is incredible because some of the cemeteries that they are doing had honestly been lost,” said Doris Lanfear, president of the Johnson County Cemetery Association. “A lot of them hadn’t been seen in years. We have to thank the sheriff; he provides the manpower and as much of the equipment as he can.”
Sloan’s crew is also seen every fall decorating Hulen Park in Cleburne, putting up lights for Whistle Stop Christmas.
“They do 95 percent of the work,” said Troy Dixon, field marshal in charge of the lights for the event. “They put up lights and fixtures and prepare the park for Whistle Stop.”
His crews also help assist the Department of Public Safety in distributing food to needy families in Johnson County for Christmas. Trustys built playhouses for the Children’s Advocacy Center.
Deputy Bret Baker’s crews maintain the grounds of the sheriff’s administration building and jail. Women do janitorial work in both buildings.
Four trustys are assigned to each county precinct for road and bridge work, trimming trees and other work.
“We can work with any governmental agency, be it city or county, or any nonprofit,” Alford said.
Benefits of the community
Having the trusty program saves the county money in many ways.
The work trustys do benefits the county government, which only provides materials.
“We have had some very talented trustys who have done stuff for us and saved the county money,” Craig said.
Building offices in the sheriff’s administration building saved the county a large amount of money that could have been used to pay crews for labor.
“I think it’s something the community should be really, really proud of,” Lanfear said.
Other projects the trustys have completed include laying bricks at the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum and work at Grandview’s city park and Ham Creek Park.
The selection process
Craig receives requests for service with the charges and bond amounts of the inmate applying to work as a trusty.
He then reviews the application, and also reviews the inmate’s file.
“I screen them very closely. I consider not only what their charges are, but I like to see their history,” Craig said. “If they’ve been here before, whether they were the part of the program then. Chances are if their charges aren’t too bad they’ll be approved.”
Once an inmate is approved, he or she is assigned to either an in-house or outside trusty crew. Indoor crews are for inmates with worse charges or larger bond amounts, and they are responsible for doing laundry, cleaning and maintenance work.
Effects of the program
The inmates who go through the trusty program have the opportunity to learn trades such as electricity or plumbing. They can learn what it feels like to help someone.
“This is not a vocational program per say,” Craig said, “but they can still learn different trades. You find a large amount of inmates who have trades, and we use it for the benefit of the program.”
Not only do they learn, most participants are less likely to return to jail.
“Not that many return,” Craig said. “If you compare the outside versus inside, considerably less of those return.”
The program changes the inmates, Alford said, and he has met former trustys on the street who thanked him for the experience.
Trustys who work well in the program and have good reports receive credit for community service and sometimes reduce their sentence up to 10 percent.
“I think it’s a great program for the county,” Alford said. “Most of [the inmates] that volunteer to get out there really like it, and they look forward to it. If their hearts are right, and they really want to correct themselves and make amends for the mistakes they’ve made, this program helps them do that.”
“This gives them value, and they give back to the community,” Sloan said. “It is tremendous for the guys to see families happy from things they’ve done.
“They do it for the community, and they do it to leave a legacy for them, their children, grandchildren and so on.”
The inmates and the community, however, are not the only ones who benefit from the program.
“I see this almost like a ministry,” Sloan said. “I see good coming out of it. It is a rewarding job for me. I am doing more than just supervising.”
By Monica Green - Cleburne Times Review
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