JACKSONVILLE, Ark. — On April 10, a new series on Netflix called Unlocked: A Jail Experiment debuted in the United States. The new show follows 46 unguarded inmates in the Pulaski County Regional Detention facility to see if they can govern themselves.
This Sunday, the NAACP in Jacksonville held a question and answer with guest speaker Sheriff Eric Higgins where he addressed the many comments and questions regarding the controversial idea of why he chose to proceed with the jail experiment.
"I want to humanize people. I want to empower people to have an impact on their culture, environment, and community. If you can do that on a micro level, in jail with people you don't care about or didn't initially care about, and if you take that with you when you go to the broader community, then maybe you realize that you are empowered, you can have a positive impact on your neighborhood, on your family," Sheriff Higgins described.
Within Sunday's meeting, some comments supporting the sheriff were made by participants.
"Thank you for allowing that glimpse of transparency not just for want you want to do but for what you were able to do," one person said.
Others asked the sheriff questions that they were curious to know the answers to.
"One I want to know how your decision to do this program actually affects you and part two I want to know how you're actually tracking your success rate," one person asked.
Sheriff Higgins explained how his biggest hope is that this experiment can help reduce the recidivism rate and empower inmates to make a positive impact on the community.
"I see their desire to do right, their desire to be a part of our community, and to be accepted. We can't just be mad at them for life they need to be held accountable and give them an opportunity," Sheriff Higgins explained.
President of the NAACP Jacksonville branch, Barry Jefferson, said he supports the sheriff's innovative experiment and added that this is just what we needed.
"We need to change because the system we're doing now is not working, building more prisons is not working, putting more people in jail is not working, because it's a revolving door but we can change the dynamic of jail on how people go and when they get released, that he won't come back," Jefferson said. "This is all because people shouldn't have to feel that they don't have no other choice, but jail."
Sheriff Higgins said that about 14,000 people were booked in their jail last year, and added that if we want to reduce the crime rate in the community it has to start by addressing the individual.
"The goal was to get people to understand that they can have a positive impact on their community. Whether it's in the jail setting or outside and also for people outside they don't know the jail or may have an opinion about people and humanizes them," Sheriff Higgins said.