Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux is six months into the job and continues to make what he sees are needed changes within the department.
Back in April Sheriff Heroux dealt with an inmate uprising that was quickly brought under control but resulted in thousands of dollars in damage at the Dartmouth facility.
The incident revealed key flaws in safety at the jail, that will be addressed with additional state support.
Sheriff Heroux says he is still moving forward with plans to shutter the Ash Street Jail in New Bedford, which houses transitional inmates from local communities, with a targeted completion in late 2024.
When Sheriff Heroux took office in January, the jail was short approximately 100 correctional officers, resulting in additional overtime and officer burnout. Thanks in part to offering incentives for new recruits, the sheriff is hopeful that the ranks of officers will be closer to full capacity next year.
Sheriff Heroux is also looking at improving the efficiency of providing services to inmates. First and foremost was the hiring this month of a new director of inmate services Jodi Hockert-Lotz.
Sheriff Heroux also reversed a policy of previous Sheriff Tom Hodgson that lowers the commissary commission rate at the jail from 32 percent to 20 percent.
The sheriff says he is also looking to spend some of the commissary commission money to improve air conditioning in some of the cell blocks.
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