Criminal Justice Class Visits County Jail

Hands-On Learning Experiences Highlight Course on 'Corrections' Long gone are the days when the county jail was simply a series of dark, dank cells with iron bars, inmates locked to balls and chains, and meals of bread and water. While the Clinton County Jail is no country club, to be sure, neither is it the stereotypical image of what Lt. Wahl described as “dungeons with leaking pipes.” PICTURED: Lt. Wahl of the Clinton County Sheriff's Office leads a tour of the County Jail. Some of those participating include WC students, from the left, Tanner Diment, Samantha O'Brien, Jayme Mabry and faculty member Dr. Sonya Goshe. Students in Dr. Sonya Goshe’s Corrections class recently toured the facility in Wilmington run by the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office. Goshe, an assistant professor of criminal justice, told the students that jails, in addition to their primary purpose of incarceration, attempt to provide many functions of the nation’s often-deficient mental health system. For example, the jail works with Talbert House in providing basic mental health services, in addition to accommodating such potential means for improving one’s life as church services, Alcoholics Anonymous and life skills classes. “We don’t open the door and present (inmates) with a bouquet of flowers, but we want to treat them with some dignity,” the lieutenant said. “We’re a smaller, more community-oriented jail. We have a care element you wouldn’t find in a larger institution.” Indeed, the class, which previously toured Lebanon Correctional Institution, was especially interested in the opportunity for inmates to receive mental health services. Jayme Mabry, a junior majoring in criminal justice, was impressed. “I didn’t think there would be as many programs, like mental health,” she said. Classmate Samantha O’Brien, a sophomore majoring in psychology with a minor in criminal justice, concurred. “I think it’s awesome with all the programs at the county jail compared to Lebanon.” Allyson Schaefer, a senior psychology/criminal justice major, said the jail tour showed “another aspect of corrections” when compared to the penitentiary atmosphere at Lebanon, which is designed essentially for hardened convicted criminals and felons requiring high security. “I’m also impressed with available services for officers’ mental health,” she added after Wahl mentioned counseling options for officers that might have witnessed a traumatic event like a suicide at the jail. “We’re trying to make a difference as much as we can, but we have a job to do here,” the lieutenant said. And that job is to safely and effectively incarcerate those arrested, charged and convicted of crimes. Wahl showed the students the intake area where the jail receives “fresh arrests straight off the street.” The alleged perpetrators are delivered, booked and classified, and undergo medical and mental health appraisals. The recidivism rate of those housed at the jail is an incredible 95-plus percent, so many of those in the 88-bed facility — segregated by areas for males, females and those requiring solitary confinement — are well known by law enforcement. He mentioned that some purposely get themselves arrested just to have a safe and warm place to stay with a decent meal. The officers often work with the local homeless shelter and food pantries to ensure the inmates are aware of those services. Wahl explained the difference in inmate uniforms and what constitutes black and white, green and white, and red and white-striped and solid hot pink prison garb. He also said the average stay in the jail is 12 days and it’s very rare for someone to be incarcerated more than a year in that facility. Most inmates are required to stay in their cells 23 hours a day with a chance to get fresh air in an outside holding area for an hour. Following the nearly 90-minute tour, the lieutenant complimented the students as a “great class” that asked “great questions.” “I appreciate the interaction because your questions got me to think even more about my answers,” he said. “We love when we can give tours and educate people.”