LISA HOBBS - News Editor
Warren County Jail has passed its certification inspection by the Tennessee Corrections Institute (TCI). It was allowed to keep its Tier 1 accreditation.
“We got one good thing, we passed our accreditation inspection,” said Commissioner Randy England, who broke the news during Monday evening’s full court meeting. “It happened about a week ago, maybe 10 days ago. We passed so well that we got to keep our Tier 1 accreditation. If my memory is right, we are one of about 32 counties that have that in the state of Tennessee. We are really proud of that.”
Tier 1 accreditation is a TCI program that recognizes jails meeting enhanced standards for safety, rehabilitation, and reintegration, and it can bring increased state funding and reduced recidivism. In order to obtain it, facilities must adopt or update policies and implement evidence-based programs such as adult education, moral reconnaissance therapy and employment skills training, among other requirements. Those programs are designed to reduce recidivism and improve inmate readiness for reentry into the community.
England also updated fellow commissioners about the state of the jail’s auto mechanics class, a joint effort between the Sheriff’s Department and TCAT, which has hit a heat-related snag.
“Our auto mechanics class is at a little bit of a standstill. We’ve got some electrical stuff that needs to be done. The school’s doing it and it’s just too hot for the students to get in there and work. So, we are putting it off until it cools off just a little bit.”
The jail’s population on Monday was 245, 176 males, 47 females and 22 Tennessee Department of Corrections inmates.