THOMASVILLE — Statistics show about 90 percent of the Thomas County Jail population is made up of repeat offenders. About 50 percent were on probation when arrested.

The most common drug among Thomas County Jail repeat drug offenders is methamphetamine, followed by crack cocaine, Schedule I and II substances and synthetic drugs.

In violent crimes, jail inmates are incarcerated for child molestation, armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, aggravated assault and elder abuse. In misdemeanors, repeat offenses are led by driving under the influence, followed by shoplifting, suspended license and family violence.

One man was booked into the jail three times within 24 hours for traffic offenses.

Mark Mitchell, judge of Thomas County State Court and Thomasville Municipal Court, said a person with a suspended driver’s license might appear in one of his courts two or three times for the offense. When a parent’s license is suspended for not paying child support, the individual has no way to get to work to make money to pay the support.

“It’s a catch-22,” he said. “We have a lot of recidivism on that.”

Capt. Steven Jones, Thomas County Sheriff’s Office public information officer, said a study shows 77 percent of the inmates in Georgia prisons are repeat offenders. 

However, he added, “So many things can skew a snapshot statistic.”

Some sentenced to state prisons have been convicted of earlier crimes for which they never served a prison term, Jones explained. On the other hand, he said, a person convicted of aggravated child molestation will go to prison on the first offense.

Brad Shealy, Southern Judicial Circuit district attorney, said about 42 percent of offenders re-offend within three years of their release date.

For some, crime is way of life, Jones said. For some being released, finding work is difficult.

Pointing out that alcohol and drugs are major contributors to recidivism, Jones said agencies such as Alcoholics Anonymous and similar agencies for those with narcotic addictions help repeat offenders wanting to get clean and sober.

Said Thomasville Police Chief Troy Rich, “I definitely believe the use of illegal drugs is a contributing factor. Drug use leads to property crimes, including burglaries, thefts, robberies and shoplifting.”

“You’ve got to want to get better. Nobody’s going to get off alcohol and drugs until they want to,” Mitchell said.

Mental health is another issue in recidivism, Shealy said.

Shealy said many offenders, once out of prison, are unable to find jobs or maintain employment because of a lack of education or skills.

Also, lack of education leads many young people to join gangs, and once they are released from prison and unable to find work, they go back to gangs and eventually re-offend. 

Repeat offenders made bad decisions and poor choices in using drugs, Rich said, adding that early education and mentoring of youths helps them understand the consequences of their decisions and choices.

An offender needs to be educated, rehabilitated and placed in a job, he said

 

Solutions

• Southern Judicial Circuit Superior Court judges are working on Drug/Mental Health Accountability Courts, a sensitive two-year program that meets with the offender at least once every two weeks. The courts are staffed with a probation officer, a judge, an assistant district attorney, a public defender, a behavioral health counselor, law enforcement and the Drug/Mental Health Court administrator to monitor and counsel the offender through an intensive rehabilitation program. There are incarceration penalties if they fail drug tests. They are rewarded for doing well. The circuit currently has two of the courts in Lowndes and Colquitt counties. The Lowndes court serves 40 people and 35 in Colquitt County.

• The Georgia Prisoner Reentry Initiative was instituted by Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal. The purpose of the program, a joint effort between state and local groups, is to prepare the offender for the time he/she is to be released. It begins in prison where the offender is advised to take courses that will provide him/her with skills or education to obtain a job after release. The program attempts to find them a place to live to keep them away from the bad influences that got them into trouble originally and works with local employers to find jobs for offenders. Once offenders have a good place to live and a job, they are much less likely to re-offend.

 

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820