ISU criminal justice students tour Putnamville operations

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

PUTNAMVILLE -- Excited and anxious faces accompanied a group of 17 criminal justice students and their professor from Indiana State University in Terre Haute as they toured inside Putnamville Correctional Facility (PCF) on Thursday, May 15.

Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice Shannon Barton-Bellessa and her pupils studying in correctional institutions class enjoyed seeing how the facility is run daily, the differences between that facility and others, as well as the commonalities with most penal institutions.

The group got to see various parts of the facility such as the prisoner dining room, the medical department, recreation areas and the education building.

The Prison Greyhound Program was a huge hit with these newcomers to corrections. They got to pet Wizard, one of the retired racing dogs in this program, and spoke with his offender handlers concerning what the process was behind socializing and eventually aiding in the adoption of the dogs to loving local families.

The Clean Lifestyle is Freedom Forever (CLIFF) dorm shocked the group with their artwork on the walls, painted by offenders, positively promoting being drug-free.

Successful re-entry being one of the goals of this program offered insight to the students of where these law breakers go after incarceration, which may not be a topic that is always thought of when it comes to prisoners.

Stopping in to speak to Internal Affairs and Correctional Police Officer J.R. Smith about the many security threat groups and dangers that can occur in corrections were mind-blowing to the group.

"Expanding the knowledge of our community by showing them our re-entry goals and various activities inside our facility is always a great approach to educate the public and those who may eventually choose corrections as a career," PCF Superintendent Stanley Knight said.

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  • I question whether showing these students the "best of the best" gives them any real insight into how a system like Putnamville really works. Less than one half of one percent of the inmate population are admitted to the CLIFF programs and less than one half of one hundredth percent get admitted to the greyhound program. Nearly 99.5% of the population lives in dorms which hold 150-175 men that were built with a capacity of 100 men. These men are kept in the dorm 23 to 24 hours a day inside the dorm. They are allowed one hour of recreation or library on some, but not all days. They average 4 days per week. Sack lunches and breakfasts and most dinners are delivered to the dorm, on a good day they will get to go to the chow hall, perhaps twice a week. My point is that showing the students the "real" Putnamville would make them a better student of criminal law, instead of showing them the "best of the best" which most of their clients will never see...

    -- Posted by jonhenry404 on Fri, Jun 13, 2014, at 3:34 PM
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