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to limit the proliferation and operation the process of turning their lives around
of local pill mills. Our county com- while in jail. Many found well-
missioners passed the ordinance, paying jobs and started businesses.
and we started to see results. It They are now giving back to the
became a model for statewide community from which they
legislation that was passed soon once took. Whatever your politi-
thereafter. cal views, it is hard to deny that
this looked like success.
Innovative Services
Although arrests for opi- Moving Forward
oid possession and overdoses Our community has yet to
decreased, the reduction in build a new corrections facil-
overcrowding still wasn’t enough. ity. Money was found for needed
I turned our attention to recidivism, repairs, and the jail population is
which meant keeping people off drugs now manageable even though our
and alcohol once they were released. I citizen population has grown significantly.
decided to try something that had never been Now there is a concrete plan to remodel an exist-
attempted in a Southeastern U.S. jail: recovery services ing building for low-level offenders who are addicted.
inside. I received considerable pushback from other law Not only will they receive recovery services to keep
enforcement and people in our community who did them out of the system, but they also receive those ser-
not believe it was our place. Despite this, we piloted a vices just outside of the main corrections facility.
program in partnership with local recovery nonprofits. Our community—which was once skeptical of com-
Participation in the recovery “pod” was voluntary, mitting taxpayer resources for the help and benefit
and inmates were screened before being allowed in. We of people who had committed crimes—has largely
were looking for people who had reached rock bottom embraced this softer approach because people rec-
and genuinely wanted to turn around their lives. ognize the benefits. They realize that addiction and
We started to see recidivism among the recovery pod mental health problems can affect any family regardless
participants drop, and it became obvious that one of the of its socio-economic status, and they understand that
best places to start recovery is in a jail. Because people keeping people out of jail is good on multiple levels.
cannot literally walk out, they have every reason to They also accept that not all incarcerated people are
cooperate. And by placing them in special housing, the same—there are still those who belong in jails and
they are removed from drug-using peer groups and prisons, but many can turn their lives around and con-
have few temptations. tribute to society.
Unfortunately, addiction and its resulting problems As I neared the end of my last term as the Sarasota
often begin again—sometimes immediately upon County Sheriff, our deputies were called to a domestic
release. For this reason, we provided additional ser- scene involving a grandmother armed with a knife.
vices. We developed pods and classes for parenting and She had long suffered from depression, and in a manic
job interviewing. Mobile ID centers came to the jail for break, she was threatening to harm her family and her-
those who didn’t have driver’s licenses. And job fairs self. The deputies located her in the woods nearby and
were held inside the jail itself, where dozens of local she subsequently lunged at one with the knife. She was
employers conducted interviews, then promised jobs to fatally shot by the deputy in self-defense. I knew then
some inmates upon their release. that despite my impending retirement, there was still
Perhaps most importantly, we partnered with a local much work to do. 
community foundation, which allowed us to provide
navigators who would work with recovery pod gradu-
ates as soon as they left the jail. The navigators serve Tom Knight spent 34 years in law enforcement including 12
years as sheriff of Sarasota County, where he was responsible
as guides who connect the graduates to social services, for approximately 1,000 personnel as well as the county’s cor-
housing, continued recovery services, and more. The rectional facilities and programs. A Distinguished Alumna of
graduates are no longer alone in the community—when Florida State University’s College of Criminology and Criminal
they have a need, they have someone reliable on whom Justice, he has been widely recognized for his innovative
they can call for help. programs and served as chair of the Florida Corrections
Accreditation Commission. In addition to serving as CEO of
As we watched our numbers decrease for drug First Step, he is a consultant with the Center for Public Safety
arrests, recidivism, and the average jail population, we Management. He can be contacted at tknight@fsos.org.
heard encouraging stories from those who had begun

18 | MAY | JUNE 2021 AMERICANJails