By Zain Taib and Elizabeth Farina
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The upcoming budget session means cutbacks for everyone, including the Chesterfield Sheriffs Office. The challenge has led the department responsible for “jail, court security and civil process” to search out the most cost-effective approach while maintaining its support services in areas such as training and information technology. The department’s FY2010 budget was amended with a 3.6 % decrease. Its budget is approximately $19.2 million, generating over $6.3 million in revenue.

“We’re literally taking the department apart. We’ve gone through the philosophy that there’s nothing sacred; that we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do,” said Chesterfield Sheriff Dennis Proffitt. 

Currently, the department has over 260 on staff. The commanders and deputies have been addressing what each unit accomplishes, as well as addressing how to lower costs. Even turning off lights at the jail in seldom-used corridors until needed presents a savings for the facility that is maintained 24/7. The facility, which uses double-bunking for inmates, is over capacity. Sheriff Proffitt takes pride in minimal incidents that occur among inmates. “We’re not keeping Sunday school students here. We’re keeping people who are prone to trouble and we’re keeping them out of trouble,” he said. 

Staff must “keep things even-pressured all the time,” Sheriff Proffitt said.

He added that the philosophy of locking the inmates up and throwing away the key is not the answer. “There are people in our jail who made a mistake and then there are people who need to be in jail,” Sheriff Proffitt said. “The people who made a mistake, we need to make sure we can get them back out, get them back to work, and get them functioning in a way they should. And the people who need to be in jail, we need to make sure they stay in jail.”

Proffitt explained that most of the inmates, except for those that are sent to Department of Corrections, serve, at the most, a year. “Part of our responsibility is that they come back a little better than when they come in,” he said.

The department is looking at its inmate programs and seeing what efficiencies can be provided for cost savings throughout the county. “I don’t look at it as the Sheriff Department’s budget. I try to look at it as the whole budget for the county, so I’m trying to see if there are ways that through our inmate programs we can save money for other departments in the county,” he said.

Inmate programs include participation in grass cutting or mulching on weekends at public facilities such as schools. “If we pitch in and save $20,000, it doesn’t make any difference what budget it’s saved in,” he said.

Inmates also participate in the jail’s laundry services and the canteen that provides 1,000 meals each day. The operating cost per meal for inmates is .98 cents. “The truth is they’re good meals and meet all the standards. They’re not steak and french fries, but they get mashed potatoes and meat,” he said.

“We run a restaurant, a medical system, laundry, and convenience store every day. We have to make sure it works,” Proffitt said. “Everyone is hurting in this economy right now. We provide a service to the county and we still provide that service, same as everyone else.”

The department operates the Local Inmate Data System, which identifies inmates held throughout the state correctional system and is also used as the state’s accounting of inmates for reimbursement to the locality, Sheriff Proffitt explained. “That’s what they use to identify what inmates we had, how many days we had them and decide our reimbursement,” he said. “We need to keep that, but the state is passing down the cost to us for maintaining it.”

Riverside Regional Jail has several rehabilitation programs aimed at returning inmates back to society as productive residents. Programs such as the GED program, Narcotics Anonymous, life skills classes, and work-release programs are some ways to achieve outcomes without a duplication of services at the county’s facility. The home incarceration program, which had an increased fee from $10 to $16 per day, keeps inmates out of jail and working. “It’s self-sufficient,” Sheriff Proffitt said.

Aside from these, Chesterfield was also awarded the National Association of Counties for their Child Support Enforcement Program, which collected $1.5 million over a year. This program assists inmates, who are incarcerated due to not paying child support, find a job and pay. The program, with the cooperation from local businesses, locates jobs for the inmates during incarceration.

“By doing this program, we’re doing two things. One, we collect the money that is owed, which is a good thing, and hopefully get the person back into the mindset that they need to pay this money,” said Sherriff Proffitt. “Secondly, if we can get them on the program going to work every day maybe they will get into that mindset that going to work is not such a bad thing; so we can change an attitude.”

The lowering of state funds has made the department very cautious of the money they will spend. Even though these cuts won’t affect the inmate programs substantially, it will leave innovative and creative programs created for rehabilitation on the back burners. 

Besides handling jail operations, the department is also charged with the security of the courthouse. According to Proffitt, approximately 1,500 people come through the courthouse doors and their safety is his department’s responsibility. The department also serves civil papers such as foreclosures. Deputies are also providing information to those evicted with information for services and help. “It’s tough to put somebody out,” he said.

Sheriff Proffitt added that the department will continue to look for savings in trying alternative methods. “Bottom line - we have to get better at what we do.”