{"id":65480,"date":"2019-11-27T09:17:52","date_gmt":"2019-11-27T16:17:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/to-ease-tension-jail-inmates-feast-during-holidays\/"},"modified":"2019-11-27T16:17:52","modified_gmt":"2019-11-27T16:17:52","slug":"to-ease-tension-jail-inmates-feast-during-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/to-ease-tension-jail-inmates-feast-during-holidays\/","title":{"rendered":"To ease tension, jail inmates feast during holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Jerome
Jerome Gallegos, left, and Deonte Williams help prepare Thanksgiving Day dinner at the La Plata County Jail, where officials say they make a point to give inmates a good meal to help ease the isolation of being in jail during the holidays.<\/span>Terrance Siemon\/Special to the Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The holidays are typically a time to spend with family and friends, so for inmates at the La Plata County Jail, a heightened sense of isolation can lead to dangerous, and at times, violent situations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanksgiving and Christmas are the most dangerous two days out of the year in any correctional environment,\u201d said Jerry Rodri, the jail\u2019s food service manager. \u201cThink how you would feel being in here instead of at home with your family.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the holidays, Rodri said inmates are typically on shorter fuses. Personal problems can be exacerbated. Offenders who are usually obedient to orders can become bad-tempered. And, though rare, the desire to be home can prompt inmates to try to escape.<\/p>\n

According to a report at Corrections.com<\/a>, the threat of increased danger or violence touches both inmates and staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the holidays are supposed to be a joyous time \u2026 the reality does not always mirror the fantasy,\u201d the report says. \u201cFor some people, the holiday season is very difficult emotionally. \u2026 Too often, we forget that staff are as vulnerable as offenders to the trials and tribulations of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jerome
Jerome Gallegos, an inmate at the La Plata County Jail, helps prepare meals in the kitchen. Jail staff members say they are particularly attentive to some of the inmates\u2019 behaviors during the holidays, as those incarcerated may feel extra stress or isolation.<\/span>Terrance Siemon\/Special to the Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

And so, for the safety of inmates and staff, the La Plata County Jail goes the extra mile on Thanksgiving and Christmas days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best we can do is give them a really decent meal,\u201d Rodri said.<\/p>\n

On Monday, the La Plata County Jail started preparing 24 turkeys for the Thanksgiving feast, which, with the jail\u2019s average of 200 inmates, is about one turkey per 10 people. The meal, Rodri said, will include all the fixings, like mashed potatoes and stuffing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is so dangerous, Christmas, Thanksgiving,\u201d he said, \u201cso if they can have nothing else that makes a holiday a holiday, I want them to have decent food.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inmates also get a few niceties on holidays they don\u2019t normally get, said Capt. Ed Aber, the jail\u2019s top administrator.<\/p>\n

For one, they get to sleep in an extra hour. Breakfast usually starts at 6:20 a.m., which means inmates are up by at least 6 a.m. On Thursday, they\u2019ll be allowed to sleep in until around 7 a.m. if they want to make the 7:20 a.m. breakfast in time.<\/p>\n

\"There\u2019s
There\u2019s only two times a year inmates have a chance at seconds: Thanksgiving and Christmas. Jail staff members make sure to give inmates a good meal to help ease loneliness during the holidays.<\/span>Terrance Siemon\/Special to the Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Thanksgiving and Christmas also are the only two meals out of the year when inmates can get a plate of seconds. And, it\u2019s the only time when they can have soda, which is typically banned.<\/p>\n

Aber said jail staff is particularly attentive to look for signs of inmates having a rough time during the holidays. As always, inmates have access to a therapist who visits the jail two times a week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s typically quicker than you can (see a therapist) on the outside,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Aber said the dynamics at the jail, in many ways, are a microcosm for the same issues in the outside world.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will have people who struggle during the holidays out in our community who don\u2019t have family and friends, and have personal challenges,\u201d he said. \u201cJust like we have in here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodri said many of the inmates recognize and appreciate the jail staff\u2019s extra effort. After all, whether it\u2019s for work or for a suspected crime, they\u2019re all in the jail together on holidays, spending a lot of time with one another. And it\u2019s not unusual for a sort of bonding to happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really is a wake-up call, especially for newer deputies,\u201d he said. \u201cThese are human beings, flawed human beings, human beings that have made a mistake. But we\u2019re all flawed.\u201d<\/p>\n

jromeo@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

bars, away from family, prisoners enjoy a good meal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":65481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[13,28,1024,29,598],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-65480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-headlines","tag-la-plata-county-jail","tag-newsletter","tag-public-holiday"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65480"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=65480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}