Jails are a tough environment. Inmates are there for crimes they committed, some more violent than others. Addiction to drugs is common among inmates.
Putting a large number of inmates together with such backgrounds can make the environment tense and stressful, for both inmates and jail supervisors.
A good example of that occurred Labor Day of last year when one Bartholomew County Jail inmate was accused of tearing apart a section of his cell door and using metal rods from it as a weapon against sheriff’s deputies. It occurred after another inmate was accused of kicking out a section of his cell door. Damage was estimated at $8,000.
Tense time? You bet.
That’s why an idea to implement a yoga program for inmates has merit.
Some Bartholomew County corrections staff, local judges Kelly Benjamin, James Worton and Kathleen Coriden, and Jeff Jones, the executive lead of the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress in Bartholomew County, have been asked by Sheriff Matt Myers to undergo nine hours of training to evaluate the program and see if they think it’s worth implementing in the Bartholomew County Jail.
The program, called Prison SMART (Stress Management and Rehabilitation Training), has multiple reported benefits according to correctional facilities, including:
- Reduced impulsive behavior
- Reduced aggression
- Improved conflict-resolution skills
- Reduced addictive behavior
- Increased self-esteem
- Improved sleep patterns
Such benefits certainly would improve any jail environment.
Equally good news is that if the program is approved, it would not be funded by taxpayer dollars, but by grants and private donations and possibly inmate commissary fees.
Prison SMART would seem to be a cost-effective, alternative means to keeping peace in the jail, and provide inmates a tool they can use now and after release as a step in their rehabilitation.
It’s an idea worth exploring and considering.
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