New Training Programs Offered at McCracken Jail

Inmates at McCracken County Jail will soon be able to enroll in several new programs designed to teach skills to help them find jobs when they are released.

The new programs will include a deck hand course, an HVAC program and electrical training module.

Jailer David Knight says the jail has worked closely with local employers to help tailor the training programs to meet their needs. He says the goal is to help place as many inmates in jobs when they get out.

"There's several companies within the local area that have been helping us with this from the beginning, so we gear these classes towards what their employment needs are. It increases the likelihood of [inmates] being employed once they get out." Knight said.

During a ceremony Thursday afternoon at the jail, a large metal sculpture created by inmates who recently graduated from the facility's welding program was unveiled. The graduates also recently completed a model of a barge deck that will be used for the upcoming deck hand training program. 

Knight says inmate interest so far in the programs has been high. He recalled one inmate in particular who chose to remain behind bars so he could complete his welding training.

"The one that stands out to me the most is a gentleman who could have got out of jail about 90 days early, and he chose to stay. He said he knew if he got out of jail he'd just go back home and get back into the same routine he'd always been in. But if he stayed and finished this welding class it would give him an opportunity not only to leave home, but to be a functional member of society. So he chose to stay rather than get out."

Knight said all of the new training classes are funded without taxpayer dollars, which he says has increased support from the public.

"We fund it completely by the commissary and donations, so there's no tax dollars that go into it at all. There's to me no end to what we can do as long as we have the support, and right now the support is very high. I just don't see a downfall to it at all." He said.

Arnie Puckett, who has worked at the jail for more than a decade, says he thinks the new programs will help reduce recidivism rates, while helping inmates and their families gain the security that comes from stable employment.

"I've been here 13 years. Up until recently what we've done hasn't worked. We've doubled the amount of inmates we have in McCracken County," Puckett said. "Most of these people are going out of jail and coming back. When they go out, a lot of times they have nowhere to go. They have no skills, so they revert back to the things that they shouldn't be doing. We need to change that somehow. It takes a lot of thought, a lot of time and a lot of work, but I think it will be successful in the end."