Every picture tells a story, doesn’t it? Anyone who doubts the value of “contact visits” between jail inmates and their loved ones need only look at the image of Hampshire County jail inmate Jose Collazo captured by Gazette photographer Sarah Crosby for an article published July 29.
Collazzo, who has been at the jail for two years and won’t be released until 2018, is shown nestling into the arms of his children, 4-year-old Jayvien and 10-year-old Dezmariah, and his girlfriend, Danielle Faust. Collazzo’s eyes are closed, but a small smile of contentment lights his face — and his children laugh with the undistilled joy of loving connection.
To their credit, Hampshire County Sheriff Patrick Cahillane and Franklin County Sheriff Christopher Donelan recognize the rehabilitative power of allowing minimum security inmates the chance to touch, hug and briefly kiss their children and other loved ones while serving time. Such physical warmth not only heals personal and family wounds but also increases the odds of inmates emerging from incarceration to lead responsible lives.
“Many of the individuals who are here may have destroyed those relationships along the way through their criminality,” Cahillane told staff writer Emily Cutts. “If we can rebuild some of those trust factors while they are here and while they are clean and sober, then what we can do is, hopefully, get the family on board with being a support system for them, if and when they go back out.”
Added Donelan: “We are not dealing with ax murderers here. We are dealing with a lot of people who have mental health and substance abuse issues. Our ultimate goal is to get them treatment and unite them with support in the community. Visitations add to that.”
The Pioneer Valley sheriffs’ outlook stands in sharp contrast to that of Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson. If Hodgson follows through on his plan, the Bristol jail will become the first in Massachusetts to force inmates and visitors to remain in separate buildings and communicate through video monitors.
The goal is to keep visitors from compromising security, said Hodgson spokesman Jonathan Darling. “It will help us in the ongoing battle to keep contraband out of our facility. Every jail in the area is going through the same thing — people trying to smuggle drugs or weapons.”
All jails face that challenge, and most — including those in Hampshire and Franklin counties — meet it by paying close attention to the interactions between inmates and visitors and cracking down on abuses.
“Do we throw contact visits out altogether because of that small population that are going to try and violate policy and abuse the privilege?” said Cahillane. “So far, we haven’t gotten to that point.”
Nor should they.
County jails hold people who have done wrong but who — unlike murderers serving life terms — will one day emerge and face the choice between committing new crimes or establishing themselves as productive members of society. The odds of failure are high, particularly if they come out without solid ties to family members and healthy social networks.
As Cahillane notes, inmates have sometimes badly damaged those bonds before landing behind bars. The chance to begin the healing process while still incarcerated gives inmates something to hold onto as they look toward release, and as they navigate the sometimes roiling waters outside.
In jail, people who have committed crimes suffer a loss of freedom, gain time to reflect on what their future should hold and have access to substance abuse treatment and other rehabilitative tools. But no jail program can replace the rehabilitative power of human touch. We commend local jail officials for their commitment to making that touch possible.