Of the 700 or more inmates located at the Daviess County Detention Center, 15 to 25 of them have the potential to be a part of a community service work crew each year. Detention Center officials estimate these crews have put $1,536,264 of free labor into our community and local nonprofits.
Daviess County Jailer Art Maglinger gave credit and praise to deputies Wayne Burns and Chris Isbill for the programs ongoing success.
“They both have a lot of experience and knowledge they bring to the table,” Maglinger said. “They have earned their spot and it’s a huge responsibility what they are doing along with the benefit it brings to our community.”
In 2018, Dep. Burns supervised and was responsible for his work crew covering 192,000 hours, mowing over 500 acres, and removing 21,900 pounds of litter. These estimates do not include Deputy Isbill’s crew affiliated with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, which was a new addition in the spring of 2018.
All of the state inmates chosen for the program have been approved by the state but are also approved by Jailer Maglinger’s team before being accepted into the program.
“Our Class D Coordinator, Sgt. Raygen Bennett either approves or denies them to go to Building 3 [lower risk inmates] and then we take into account things like their parole eligibility dates, their record and the types of charges against the inmate to help determine those with the least risk,” Maglinger said.
All inmates accepted into the program are state classified inmates that are either level 1 or level 2. These convictions are for either C or D felonies, which are all considered non-violent.
Even with a low-risk assessment, the deputies are only assigned five or six inmates, staying vigilant of any possible risks when an inmate leaves the walls of the jail.
“With two crews working daily, 10-12 inmates are involved in the work crew on any given work day,” Maglinger said.
Projects completed by participating inmates vary. Mowing is most frequent in the summer months, but crews also pick up litter, rake leaves, work at the landfill and on various roadway projects. Many nonprofit agencies benefit from the work crews beautification efforts in local parks, city and county roadways and clean-up after community events such as the Christmas parade.
“One of the interesting things Dep. Burns and his work crew does is respond to requests from the sheriff’s department,” Maglinger said. “If a wreck for instance with an overturned semi involves spilled cargo on the roadway, Burns will go get his crew and get the Natcher Parkway or local roadway cleaned up and opened again. It’s a sacrifice on Wayne’s part as calls, although not often, can come at any time of the night.”
Inmates on work crews receive $12.50 per month, but the state work credit is the biggest benefit.
“For every 40 hours they work, they get a day knocked off their sentence,” Maglinger said, adding that there are additional benefits. “I think for the inmates, being outside is just simply good medicine for a lot of people. For our community, however, it’s a financial benefit, but hopefully, they also see it as a way the inmates are giving back for the wrongs they’ve committed in their lives.”
