The sight of orange jump-suited inmates working in parks or along roadsides has become common place in Mecklenburg County since Inmate Work Crews were established by Sheriff Jim Pendergraph in March 1995, shortly after he took office. "My philosophy is that we have inmates who are serving time. There is no reason that they should not be paying something back to our community."

A 1995 Charlotte Observer editorial put it this way: "Whether jail inmates should be put on work crews while serving time may have been controversial when proposed last fall, but when the first inmate work crew went out this week, the results were hard to argue with. . . . Sheriff Pendergraph deserves commendation for putting the crew concept into action. Our parks alone offer more than enough work to keep them busy for months."

The Sheriff's Office Inmate Work Crews have been partners in the Clean Sweep Program. Working with the city's Community Improvement and Neighborhood Development divisions, police Community Relations Officers, neighborhood action groups and private businesses like Container Corporation and BFI, the work crews help clean up specific neighborhoods in the "City Within A City" area.

Specifically, the crews participate in weekend clean sweep programs.  The weekend work crews help clean up targeted neighborhoods. The goal is to make the neighborhoods safer and better places to live for law-abiding citizens and to make life more difficult for criminal elements.

Typical projects range from picking up trash along roadsides and beautification projects for schools, libraries, and parks- particularly stream cleanups.  Recent projects included cleaning Springfield Park, graffiti removal at McAlway Park, and gutting seven abandoned houses for the Cherry Community.  One ongoing special project is to assist Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' warehouse staff in putting together science kits for all area schools.

The crew is equipped with two buses, a pick-up truck, power tools, and hand tools.  The crew is divided into two teams of three that operate seven days a week.  The highest number of inmates that can work under the direction of three officers is 20.  Despite initial concerns about security, there have been no escapes, or any attempted, since the program began ten years ago.

In the 2003-2004 calendar year, the Inmate Work Crew worked a totoal of 34,493.50 hours.  Based on a minimum wage of $10.15 per hour, their efforts have saved taxpayers more than 340,055.85.

Requests for assistance for the Sheriff's Office Inmate Work Crew can be made by calling 704.336.8164.