Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold continues efforts to make the courts and downtown more secure while saving tax dollars. He continues fact-find sessions with technology firms that would enable inmates to go to court via secure television and never leave the jail.
Elected To National Sheriffs Association Board
His actions are evidently catching the attention of others. Sheriff Arnold told WGNS News . . .
In addition to Sheriff Arnold being elected to be on the National Sheriff Association's board, Tim Elder was named the group's Chaplain of the Year.
The National Sheriffs Association is having its annual meeting in Nashville at the Opryland Hotel. The process of putting the new board into place was on the same evening that a gas explosion occured around 8:15 Tuesday evening at the hotel and force evacuation of the 5,000 guests. There were no injuries.
Possible Video Arraignments/Visitation
While on Wednesday's (6/20/2012) WGNS "Action Line" radio program, the sheriff noted that in addition to video arraignments, the system could also be used to make it easy for all family members to visit inmates. He explained that the visit could be done with the family together at their home in front of the TV and the inmate still in the Adult Detention Center. Sheriff Arnold noted that this too would reduce security problems while saving tax dollars.
Kitchen To Be Finished October 1st
While the garden at the 940 New Salem Highway campus is teaching teamwork and skills to inmates, it's not being used for food in the jail. That's because for almost a year, meals have had to be prepared at an outside location while the kitchen there is being rebuilt. The sheriff said the first crop was distributed to local non-profit groups, and that work on the jail's kitchen is expected to be finished by October first.