More than one dozen former inmates completed a skills training program in Dallas last week aimed at helping them find jobs in the construction industry and avoid recidivism.
The 20 individuals graduated from the program earlier in August in a ceremony attended by Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown at the Bill J. Priest Training Center on Corinth Street.
The re-entry program is meant to decrease the number of repeat offenders in the correctional system. The classes lasted between four and 10 weeks, and students had to enroll in Dallas College to participate in the program.
As of August 30, there have been 17,526 assaults, 166 murders, 3,989 burglaries, and 1,586 robberies reported this year, according to a Dallas Police Department report.
Additionally, DPD has been short-staffed for years, maintaining a force of only around 3,100 officers. A City report previously advised that Dallas needs about 4,000 officers.
Melvin Osborne, a former inmate and program graduate, talked with NBC 5 DFW about his experience. He told the news outlet that he has a young son now to consider.
“I’ve been going so through so much as far as my trials and tribulations and everything like that,” Osborne said. “Now I have the opportunity to put people in my place that understand where I have come from and understand what I have done in the past and it’s OK. I’m trying to change. I feel real good.”
Brown warned the recent graduates about how difficult it can be to resist their past behaviors.
“You’re going to have to let go of some of the people, the places and things you have known in the past. You’re going to have to leave those things alone because those things got you caught up,” Brown said, per NBC 5.
U.S. recidivism rates are notoriously high, according to Wisevoter, with roughly 44% of former inmates reoffending and returning to prison within one year of release. However, some studies have shown that recidivism rates decrease when inmates have job training and employment prospects on the outside.
“I got the tools now to do it. And now is the time to figure out where I want to be in the construction business,” Osborne said, according to NBC 5.
The Regional Black Contractors Association provided the training and said plenty of construction jobs are available in the DFW area.
NBC 5 reported that all graduates earned training certifications from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Center for Construction Education and Research.
