Sheriff Scandrett on the New Season of '60 Days In'
The new season of '60 Days In' on A&E promises to be one of the most intense yet. Sheriff Reginald B. Scandrett talks about it all.
No one wants to go to jail, including (or perhaps especially) those who have already been there. Yet that’s the exact scenario in the new season of A&E’ s hit series 60 Days In. For the first time, this season will feature seven former convicts returning to jail on a reconnaissance mission as they attempt to help the newly-elected Sheriff improve conditions for prisoners and correctional officers alike.
That sheriff, Reginald B. Scandrett, was elected on a platform of reducing recidivism, a relapse of criminal behavior. The first African American sheriff in Georgia’s Henry County, Sheriff Scandrett has a 30-plus year history in corrections and law enforcement, and his passion for improving the lives of those in his community runs as deep as his Georgia roots.
Sling TV was able to speak with Sheriff Scandrett about the new season of 60 Days In, the challenges of changing the system while working within it, and his friendship with NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal. Check out excerpts from our conversation below; to watch the season premiere of 60 Days In Thursday, Aug. 18 at 9pm ET on A&E, sign up for Sling Orange + Blue using the link at the bottom of this page.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Sling TV: How do you think using formerly incarcerated people changes the dynamic of the show?
Sheriff Scandrett: Well it gives me some experience and the institutional knowledge that they can identify things quickly, because they have seen them or experienced them, and it raises levels of consciousness for my team to make sure that we keep one eye on them and the situation. And so we can extract from that data, that we need to put down and form our strategic plan in terms of how we’re going to attack the issues that were found, how we’re going to address them, and more importantly, how we’re going to sustain the high level of excellence and the high level way of doing things moving forward to try to change a paradigm. And that’s very difficult to do in this particular area that I’ve inherited.
Sling: Can you talk about the balancing act of working in law enforcement while also trying to affect change in the prison system?
Sheriff Scandrett: I think that change started with respect to me when I was growing up in a very challenging area on the west side of town. And those types of situations humbled me, number one, and it [prepared] me for this position that I got into over 30-some years ago at the lowest level. And at each level, I was able to learn things along the way. So those things were challenging, but it humbled me as well, and it made me understand what the calling was, with respect to me.
And the calling is different from a job. When you answer the calling, it’s about change, it’s about being relevant, and it’s about trying to leave a legacy that will change the area, but yet be an example for the areas that you touch and you influence. Whether or not that is locally from a state perspective, or broad from a United States perspective, I understand that calling and I’m able to walk into it right now with strength and with specific direction and guidance, in terms of how I should do it and what we should do in this timeframe.
Sling: What do you hope viewers take away about law enforcement and corrections officers by watching this season?
Sheriff Scandrett: There’s an old proverb that says, ‘In all of your getting, get understanding.’ And oftentimes we are lost because we do not [do that]. One of the reasons that I wanted to be a part of this type of show [is] so that we can be transparent, so we can see some of the challenges that the inmates go through, that our officers go through. And then how are they independently able to unpack their individual challenges. If we can understand those things better along the way, I think that it can make us a better law enforcement agency, help the inmates to understand why they’re here, what’s expected of them, and help the community understand that we want to develop a relationship with [them] that will equal trust.
Sling: What role do you see the show playing in your goal to reduce recidivism?
Sheriff Scandrett: Well, that is one of the many reasons that we utilized seven ex-cons, because they had already [reformed]. They had already paid their debt to society, they have gotten out and established themselves with respect to jobs and families, and so that is the textbook definition of [beating] recidivism. People do not return to jail, because they have some things they can identify with, that can sustain them, and subsequently change their lives so that they don’t have to return back to the challenges that they have experienced before.
Sling: Can you talk about working with the people who are willingly giving up their lives to return to prison?
Sheriff Scandrett: It was a humbling experience in terms of ‘but for the grace of God there go I.’ So it allows me and the people that are around us that have an opportunity to work with these individuals, to realize, stay humble, number one. And number two, understand that these people have gone through some challenges, but who has not? And what that did was allow us to relate to people along the way and to continue to walk in our oath. Part of our oath talks about ‘to treat people humanely.’ And if we do that, that should make us a better person, and it should consistently raise our level of consciousness in terms of where we should be in life, and what we should be professionally when dealing with people every single day.
Sling: Can you talk a bit about your relationship to Shaq?
Sheriff Scandrett: Shaquille O’Neal is my community relations director. I’ve [known] him for quite some time. Shaquille understands my mission, he understands exactly where we’re going, and Shaquille gets it, in terms of trying to bring the community together. Helping us to understand our challenges along the way. Helping us to understand that, hey, we have a couple of things in common. One is that we all want to be safe. And the second thing is that when we cry, our tears are the same color. Shaquille gets it [and] we’ll continue to implement those types of things so that we can grow in our community with respect to coming together, versus being apart.
To watch the news season of 60 Days In on A&E, use the link below to sign up for Sling Orange + Blue!