North Carolina Department of Correction
Polk Youth Institution
REMARKS BY CORRECTION SECRETARY MACK JARVIS
AT THE DEDICATION CEREMONIES FOR POLK YOUTH INSTITUTION,
AUGUST 6, 1997, 11:OO A.M.
More than a century ago, North Carolinians were strongly opposed to the building of a state penitentiary. Times have changed.
This decade has seen the public demanding more solutions to stop crime. More prisons. Longer sentences. Safe streets. Governor Jim Hunt listened and called the General Assembly together for a special crime session in 1993. This prison, Polk Youth Institution, was one of a number of measures funded during that session.
Paroles were cut by 41%. The crime rate has dropped. We think we played a major role in that. However, our work as correction professionals has just begun.
Having worked for this department for through five decades, I have witnessed a dramatic change. I remember the dark cells and people talking about the ball and chain days. We have come into a more reasonable, productive era. There's much work left to be done. Some of it must be litigated through the courts, for example with the recent sentencing changes in the crack cocaine law which unfairly targeted African-Americans. More is needed to be done in that area.
We see how important education is to preventing crime. Governor Hunt's Smart Start Program will go a long way towards giving children a better start in life and keep more people out of prison. In the meantime, youthful offenders sent here to Polk will be able to earn their G.E.D. and take part in other educational or vocational training. We recently signed a contract with the Institute for Global Ethics. They have begun training Polk Youth Institution's staff so to help inmates know the difference between right and wrong, and how to choose between two rights.
Inmates here will have jobs inside the prison: working in the kitchen as bakers, cooks and dishwashers; doing groundwork and janitorial work; and inmates will be trained in the new maintenance technologies to perform routine maintenance. Granville Community College will be teaching inmates a new trade: industrial cleaning. Polk is looking at several ideas to bring jobs inside the prison. George Currie is working with the Food Bank of North Carolina on possibly sorting food for distribution to the needy. We may be working with a non-profit agency in doing computer repair work for schoolrooms.
Polk staff are looking for innovative jobs to put inmates to work as the governor has charged. We want to change inmates' lives. We can't turn them out as bad as we receive them.
As taxpayers, we can't continue to build these mega-prisons, it's not fair to the state of North Carolina. Although the correction business is booming, we who work in this department would prefer working ourselves out of a job. The success stories are what have kept me going strong all these years, and I'm sure it's what motivates the majority of correction employees.
The staff at Polk Youth Institution have a big job ahead of them, dealing with the most vulnerable age group. How these inmates are treated inside these walls will determine how they will behave when they go home. Knowing the dedication and professionalism displayed in the past, I'm confident Polk's staff is more than up to the task. May this prison be the solid foundation for a productive change in character for the thousands of inmates who pass this way, and a rewarding job experience for those who have chosen this profession. We appreciate being a part of this community.
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