INMATE WORK PROGRAM YEAR END REPORT – 2019
The Inmate Work Program through the Richland County Sheriff’s office is a volunteer program for inmates to leave the confines of the Richland County Jail for a few hours a day to work for Officer Keith A. Witzky in doing service projects in the community. The benefits of the program are appreciated not only by the hosting organization but by the inmates as well.Once inmates are selectively chosen according to eligibility criteria they do tasks such as moving furniture, records, and other materials as well as grounds clean up, weed control, and cleaning of the county garages and trucks. Some of the inmates have demonstrated that they have job skills that allow them to assist the Richland County Maintenance Department with some more complex tasks.
When the weather permits, and generally in the spring before the weeds begin to grow, the inmate work crew picks up trash in the ditches and along the road as part of a beautification effort.Work is done on many types of roads within the county. The crew also works to help maintain the grounds in cemeteries.Upon the request of the Richland County Fair Board, the crew will donate time one day a week to help with grounds keeping duties and do the set up and tear down of building events.
The efforts of the work program save organizations labor and payroll dollars while giving inmates a chance to do something good with the time that they serve.The fellow crewmembers recognize that they have the potential to do good things once they are released.In 2019 alone, the Inmate Work Crew put in roughly 3,756 hours of volunteer community service. A very conservative calculation of cost savings to the taxpayers for this work is over $56,000.
The Richland County Sheriff’s Office has a mission statement: “Dedicated to providing a safe and secure community for citizens and visitors of Richland County through integrity, professionalism, and efficiency of services.” Keith Witzky considers it a privilege to serve as the Inmate Community Works Deputy for many years and looks forward to being able to continue to serve Richland County. He thanks Sheriff J. Steve Sheldon for these opportunities.