RALEIGH — The North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association holds training classes all over the state every year for sheriffs, people who work in sheriffs’ offices, and others who are part of the Statewide Misdemeanor Confinement Program (SMCP).
There was training this year in Haywood County, Catawba County, Pitt County, Duplin County, and Wake County, among others. Counties that want to take in SMCP inmates have to send at least one staff person to at least one of the SMCP training classes that happen every year.
The people who work for the association run the SMCP and make sure that state prisoners who have been found guilty of a crime or DWI and given more than 90 days in jail are housed and transported.
Through the program, sheriffs can offer to house SMCP inmates in their own county jails when they have beds open. Counties are then paid for the costs of housing and transporting these prisoners.
During the training classes that were given throughout September, Association staff went into great detail about the program’s details, such as who was eligible, how to get an inmate into SMCP, and what costs were covered.
By sending prisoners to county jails instead of state prisons, the SMCP has saved the state of North Carolina a lot of money on housing costs since it started in 2012. The counties that take in SMCP criminals get $40 a day to pay for the care of these prisoners.
The SMCP also helps prisoners by making sure they are not housed with dangerous criminals in state jails. SMCP prisoners are often able to be housed in a jail that is closer to home. This makes it easier for them to stay in touch with their support network and family.
Mike Roberson, President of the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association and Sheriff of Chatham County, said this about the program: “The Statewide Misdemeanor Confinement Program is a valuable program for state misdemeanants and North Carolina in general.”
SMCP has saved millions of dollars on living and transportation costs for prisoners while still giving them the best care in the state.
You can find out more about SMCP and see a list of counties that have offered beds for the program at ncsheriffs.org/services/statewide-misdemeanor-confinement-program.
The North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association has been around since 1922 and is made up of all 100 sheriffs in the state. It is a non-profit professional and educational group.
Sheriffs in North Carolina work together to improve the job of police officers and the services their departments offer to the people of the state through their Association.