Making corrections: Women's facility helps inmates rehabilitate, heal for the future

Making corrections: Women's facility helps inmates rehabilitate, heal for the future BY KATE WARD

Northwest Arkansas Times Though it’s only been about two months since LeaAnna McCreary stepped into the Northwest Arkansas Community Corrections Center, the 20-year-old fiancé and mother admits she’s already beginning to heal.

“ I’ve learned from my mistakes, ” she said. “ I can’t change my past, but I can change my future. ”

McCreary is one of nearly 100 women residing in an all-female correctional facility, located on College Avenue in Fayetteville. The minimum security center opened in April and houses nonviolent female offenders. It’s one of five such centers in the state. The others are in Texarkana, Osceola, Little Rock and Pine Bluff. The 325-bed facility in Pine Bluff is the only other center specifically for women.

Maggie Capel, facility supervisor, said the North- west Arkansas center was originally set up to house 172 residents, but unexpected budget cuts knocked the building’s capacity back to 100. Currently, the center is at full capacity. After being detained in the Washington County Detention Center for about five months, McCreary said transferring to the community corrections facility felt like a significant upgrade. “ There are a lot of little things that make a big difference, ” she said. “ For instance, they don’t make you chop off your hair when you come in, and they let you wear makeup. That’s a big deal for a lot of women. Another thing is the food — it’s amazing. The dessert is my favorite. ”Capel said the center differs from other, larger correctional facilities because of its emphasis on rehabilitation rather than punishment. The Northwest Arkansas Community Corrections Center, she said, focuses on behavior modification and provides an alternative to traditional prison sentences. “ I don’t think many people think of correctional facilities as healing, but that’s what we’re supposed to do, ” she said. “ Their punishment is that they’re here and they can’t leave. It’s not to torture them further ” In addition to being court-ordered, residents must be nonviolent offenders to gain acceptance into the program. Sex offenders are not permitted. Residents’ average length of stay is about nine months with a maximum of two years. Located on College Avenue, the correction center is at the site of the former Washington County jail and was also used as a temporary shelter for Hurricane Katrina evacuees. Renovation of the building started in July 2007. Department employees and male inmates from another detention center spent months converting the former jail, built in 1988, into the female detention center. The Arkansas General Assembly spent about $ 700, 000 improving the facility by adding new paint and removing some bars and doors, among other renovations. Razorwire and security fences were also removed from around the building.

“ When we transferred our first residents from the Pine Bluff facility, they wanted to go back, ” Capel said. “ Some of them cried. After a while though, they started to realize how much they liked being in a smaller facility. They began to appreciate the individualized attention. ” The facility features individual pods, along with a chow hall, mental health office, infirmary, nurse’s office, exercise room, law library, laundry facility, post office area, kitchen, outdoor recreation area and an adjoining administrative building. Walls inside the law library feature a painted mural adorned with books and a fireplace. The room contains a computer that can be used to access various legal information and court-related data. Another mural, depicting a scene of “ old Fayetteville, ” is currently being sketched and painted by facility residents along a hallway wall. “ It’s designed to create a sense of community and warmth, ” McCreary said. “ It helps bring us together. ” Capel said the possibility of a work-release program is currently on the horizon. “ If we could get back out into the community, I think that would be great, ” she said. “ I also think it would help improve their selfesteem. ”

Path to trouble Before her troubles with the law, McCreary was involved in a rocky marriage. Her former husband introduced her to marijuana and other drugs, eventually leading to her problems with addiction. “ Before I met him, I wouldn’t have touched drugs, ” the Harrison native said. “ I remember when he first came over to my house. He asked my mom if he could light up, and my mom just said ‘ Sure. ’ I just went along with it because I was trying my best to impress him. ” Though she said she never enjoyed the feeling she got from drugs, McCreary continued to follow her husband’s example. The couple had a son together, but their marriage continued to crumble. The death of her grandmother only made things worse. “ I tried to hide my pain by doing drugs, ” she admitted. Eventually, it began taking more and more drugs to hide McCreary’s pain. She began doing anything she could to feed her addiction, even if it meant breaking the law. Her continued run-ins with police ended after McCreary stole her best friend’s car and drove to Texas — a violation of her probation. That crime landed her in the Washington County Detention Center. She was later transferred to the Northwest Arkansas Community Corrections Center — a place that has allowed her to heal.

A time for healing After entering the facility, McCreary underwent a 30-day orientation phase. She was placed in a room with two sets of bunk beds and a television mounted in a corner. Also hanging on either wall were two bulletin boards adorned with pictures of residents’ loved ones. During the evening hours, residents in the orientation phase are permitted to watch about 30 minutes of local or national news. All facility residents are required to wear bright yellow uniforms adorned only with a photo I. D. While walking through the building, occupants must always walk with their hands behind their backs, also known as the “ soldier at arms” position. After the orientation period, residents complete Phase II and III of the program. Each phase includes support classes, counseling and specific chores. Phase II lasts between three and four months, while the last phase lasts approximately three months or until the a resident is released.

Mornings within the facility begin with a meditation period devoted to bringing families together. Residents spend the rest of the day performing specific duties assigned to them. Those without a high school diploma must attend classes to earn a General Education Degree, before taking on additional responsibilities. All residents receive specialized counseling related to each individual. Every day

> Kum-By-Ya or playing the system?

Difficult to tell.

There's an excellent New Zealand writer called Celia Lashlie. She was the manager of the Christchurch Women's Prison. Her book The Journey to Prison: Who Goes and Why makes a very persuasive case that female offending is considerably different to male offending in many important ways.

Interestingly, she writes that "crime families" cause much of the crime in society, and that these families are, as often as not, controlled by a strong female. If society can influence these strong females into not offending, they will, in turn, influence their crime families into not offending.

I have met Ms Lashlie and heard her speak: she is a very persuasive person. Very short and stocky, yet very tough-looking as you would expect a senior ex-prison officer to be. There is nothing "Kum-ba-Ya" about her at all. She has worked in some of New Zealand's toughest all-male prisons (think "Leavenworth" except tough) and has a presence about her that radiates credibility.

Anyrate, what is written in this article is not out of step with what Ms Lashlie has written: it was an eye-opener. The ISBN for her book is 1-86950-474-7 -- highly recommended reading.

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