North Carolina Department of Correction news release

Community Work Squads Work 1.4 Million Hours In 1996

JANUARY 17, 1997

RALEIGH -- Inmates in the Governor's Community Work Program worked 1.4 million hours for North Carolina communities and public agencies during 1996.

If communities had to pay minimum wage for the 1,417,479 hours inmates worked, it would have cost $6,733,025. But inmate labor is provided free through the state prison work program. Inmates painted buildings, cleared brush and picked up litter in communities across the state.

"Public agencies have found inmate labor helpful in cleaning up and improving their communities," said Correction Secretary Mack Jarvis. "Putting the inmates to work is a way of requiring them to give something back to the community."

During 1996, inmates cleaned up after hurricanes, ice storms and mud slides. After Hurricane Fran, prison managers increased the number of community work squads at Greene Correctional Center from nine to fifteen. Inmates worked eleven, instead of seven hours each day. Supervising correctional officers worked twelve, instead of eight hours.

During September, inmates from Greene worked 22,639 hours. Other inmates worked long hours during September cleaning up after the hurricane. Inmate squads at Robeson, Sanford and Bladen prisons worked more than 10,000 hours during the month. Prison managers sent 2,000 inmates through the community work program, road squads and other work programs to assist eastern North Carolina in the aftermath of the hurricane.

The community work program began with one prison in 1994, expanded to 18 prisons in 1995 and 35 prisons by the end of 1996. The program provides a correctional officer to supervise squads of up to 14 inmates in short term, manual labor jobs for public agencies.

During 1997, another 714 inmates will be put to work with the addition of 51 more community work squads.

THE COMMUNITY WORK PROGRAM
1996

Prison number of squads Program Started Total inmate man-hours Types of projects
Alexander C.C.112/96320removing debris, cleaning streets
Anson C.C. 2 1/96 16,475 painting, landscaping
Bladen Y.C. 5 3/95 95,205light construction, litter pick-up, fencing, ditching
Buncombe C.C. 1 11/95 10,400painting, cutting brush, moving equipment
Cabarrus C.C. 2 1/96 17,178painting, fencing, landscaping
Caldwell C.C. 4 2/95 52,932Cutting brush, clearing trash, painting public buildings, building nature trails
Carteret C.C. 3 12/94 71,766hurricane clean-up, cutting brush, clearing trash
Catawba C.C. 2 1/96 20,107painting, clearing sidewalks
Davidson C.C. 2 1/95 48,858cleaning up tire dump, wash and wax ambulances, Cutting brush, clearing trash
Duplin C.C. 3 12/94 55,606hurricane clean-up, removing storm debris, cleaning up tire dump, cutting brush
Durham C.C. 1 12/95 10,415cleaning cemetery, washing buses
Fountain C.C. for Women 2 2/95 31,182hurricane clean-up, painting, landscaping, litter pick-up
Forsyth C.C. 1 10/95 12,350clearing fence lines, painting, mulching
Gaston C.C. 2 1/96 17,942cutting brush, litter pick-up
Gates C.C. 1 10/95 16,277painting, clearing brush, cleaning sidewalks
Greene C.C. 9 5/94 165,655hurricane Clean-up, Cutting brush, clearing debris
Haywood C.C. 1 12/95 19,802Painting, landscaping, street cleaning
Henderson C.C. 1 12/95 23,560prepare for fair, litter pick-up
Marion C.I. 38/95 61,554moving painting, light construction
Nash C.I. 212/95 17,981Moving, cleaning vehicles, clearing brush
Neuse C.I. 3 10/95 46,422Clearing brush, litter pick-up
New Hanover C.C. 5 11/94 93,363hurricane clean-up, Cleaning beaches and waterfront, constructing picnic site, landscaping, cutting brush, clearing trash
Odom C.I.110/962,605litter pick-up, clearing brush
Orange C.C. 14/95 24,296painting, waxing floors, wash buses
Pasquotank C.I. 812/95 35,801hurricane clean-up, clearing brush, picking up litter
Robeson C.C. 2 2/95 33,506hurricane clean-up, painting, moving
Rowan C.C. 2 1/95 17,310painting, cutting brush, clearing trash
Rutherford C.C. 3 1/95 58,332Cutting brush, clearing trash
Sandhills Y.C. 22/96 50,586hurricane clean-up, clearing brush
Sanford C.C. 4 1/95 101,651Cutting brush, clearing trash, landscaping
Southern C.I. 3 1/95 74,634hurricane clean-up, painting, construction, landscaping, cutting brush
Stokes C.C. 1 10/95 12,329Cut brush, painting, litter pick-up
Tillery C.C. 4 8/95 31,187clearing brush, trash pick-up, washing school buses
Umstead C.C. 2 11/95 16,002painting, cemetery clean-up, landscaping
Wilkes C.C. 3 1/95 53,890painting public buildings, landscaping, cutting brush, clearing trash

1/17/97
DOC pio

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