S2 Ep69: That's So Cincinnati: What does it mean to treat prisoners with 'dignity'? New county sheriff explains

New Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey really missed the department during her nearly four years out of uniform. 

The 33-year law enforcement veteran missed many of her old coworkers. She missed putting on the black-and-gold uniform each day. And she missed the jail inmates. 

Wait. What?

Any doubt there's a new sheriff in town? Certainly the county's previous two sheriffs – Jim Neil and Si Leis – would've never said that.

But McGuffey, who spent several years overseeing the county jail, has brought a fresh approach to the office – and that includes treating inmates with a balance of tough love and dignity. 

McGuffey – one of the first openly LGBTQ sheriff's in the U.S. and the first woman elected to the position in Hamilton County – explained her approach to the job during an in-depth discussion this week with The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast. 

"The bulk of my experience has been inside this jail," McGuffey said. "I walked in here in my early 20s. Unfortunately, some of the prisoners that I knew back then, I still know now. They're still coming back. The thing that worries me is: why?"

McGuffey continued: "There are boundaries that you set as an officer. You are the authority. But in general, you get to know people. You get to know their circumstances, and you can certainly understand why they're where they are. And the other piece of this is: appreciate them. I appreciate their senses of humor. I appreciate their life experiences. So yeah, I missed the prisoners."

McGuffey talked about criminal justice reform on the campaign last year, and the 62-year-old West Side native has wasted no time following through on that promise during her first month on the job. Case in point: She's investing in inmate care. 

And unlike some of her predecessors, McGuffey isn't going to complain constantly about jail overcrowding. Nor will she push for a new county jail. 

Here's what McGuffey said about improving inmates' lives in the jail: 

This county does not need a new jail. We can fix the one we have. We just need to get in there and do it. There's hard things to do. We need to find alternatives in the way of community corrections for low-level offenders. We're working on things like improving the food. Just today we created an addition to the policy for prisoners who are in medical and mental health units that they get good linens. I mean sheets and a blanket that's very clean (and) in good shape. 

Those are small things. But those are things that improve people's lives, and when they walk out the door, they're a lot less likely to re-offend when we get them healthy and whole again. It's treating people with dignity so that when they walk out of there they feel confident enough to seek help.

To anyone who may criticize her approach as too soft, McGuffey said: 

I'm not pie-in-the-sky. I am very law and order. I'm very rooted in reality, I promise you that. The years in the jail, they make you know that reality is real. But I believe we can do so much better.

I would say to those people, "Please remember, those inmates are getting out of jail. At some point in time, they will walk back into your neighborhood. And would you rather have them be more enlightened; perhaps have a different frame of mind; perhaps feel enfranchised enough to join the community and say, 'Hey I want to do well?' " 

The way to do that is build them that way. Not create a situation where all you're doing is punishing them day to day to day. You just can't do that with people and build up self-esteem. That's part of reform. Let's change the mindset.