Sheriff's Office Names Deputies of the Year

Douglas County Sheriff's Investigator Shay Brooks and Lt. Bryan Wood were presented with the Award of Professionalism.

The award is annually given by the 159 elected Sheriffs in Georgia to recognize law enforcement officers who go above and beyond their job responsibilities to advance the profession and to serve and protect the Public.  Brooks and Wood were nominated by Douglas County Chief Deputy Stan Copeland and Sheriff Phil Miller for their work in the Department’s MACE Program - Making a Change Early.

Through his official duties, Investigator Brooks was seeing repeat offenders coming through the Juvenile Court system, and realized that these children and teens were quickly going down the wrong path of life.  He was concerned that they would end up in jail at a very young age, that jail was no place for a young person to be, and that their lives would be ruined if they ended up there.

Lt. Wood already had an outreach program to educate children and teens about the realities of jail, including showing them handcuffs and orange jumpsuits, and teaching them about the lack of privacy and freedoms.

Investigator Brooks organized the MACE Program, asked Lt. Wood to incorporate his existing education into the new program, and pitched the idea to Sheriff’s Department Colonel M. O. Harper and it was approved by the Command Staff.

The program was implemented in 2012 with the purpose of stemming the tide and keeping kids out of jail.  It is designed for at-risk youth ages 13 to 17 who have shown disrespectful behavior, have had problems, and/or may be involved in gang activity.  It is designed to be a reality check for these youth - a “scared straight” program.

Youth in the MACE Program are signed up by their parent(s), or assigned by the Juvenile Court.  It is primarily open to Douglas County residents, although youth from other areas are enrolled as space allows.  Each class has a maximum of ten youth. The program is held on Fridays, usually twice a month, and most of the Sheriff’s Department employees who are involved volunteer their time and service.

On the Friday morning, the youth and parent(s) arrive together at the Douglas County Jail. They receive explanations of what to expect, and the rules and regulation. Parents sign permission forms, and the youth are escorted into the Jail where they become simulated prisoners.  They are searched for any contraband - jewelry, cell phones and all personal items are removed- and they are then dressed in inmate uniforms and shower shoes.

They are placed in waist chains and handcuffs and go into the actual Jail dorm areas. The current inmates know why the youth are there, and give them an up-close and personal reality check, including yelling, screaming, telling them in real and uncensored terms what life is like in the dorm and what they can expect from other inmates if they would ever end up there. The inmates are not allowed to touch the youth, and the youth are protected at all times by Deputy Sheriffs, but they get a dose of reality.

They then go to single cells to experience lockdown and isolation, and afterwards eat an inmate lunch.  They hear inmates’ personal accounts of jail and prison life and how they came to be in jail.  Afterwards, the youth are allowed to visit with their parent(s) through a phone or video only - no personal contact - so that they can see the distance and separation that comes with jail life.

The youth then must individually appear before a Douglas County Judge to present their own reasons why they should be allowed to leave the jail and go home.  This sometimes takes two appearances, and the Judge also has the option of assigning projects for the youth to complete after their “release.”

While the youth are in the jail, the staff holds classes for the parents to educate them on resources available to help them with the youth, and to give them the tools to succeed.  Deputies follow up with the youth and their parent(s) a few weeks after the program to provide support to the family.

In the first nine months of the MACE program, 110 at-risk youth have experienced it and only seven of them have ended up in the criminal justice system.

Investigator Brooks and Lt. Wood both stated that the program is successful due to the involvement of multiple Sheriff’s Department personnel who volunteer their time, and that their State award is shared with all of them.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Department MACE Program was recently featured on the A&E Network’s “Beyond Scared Straight” series, and A&E has already filmed a second episode and scheduled a third one for filming.

Parents wanting more information about the MACE Program are invited to contact Investigator Brooks at 770-920-4918.