DENVER — The Denver Sheriff Department has become the first jail in the country to launch an in-person visitation clothing project.
On Thursday, the Denver jail began a new policy of allowing inmates to change into everyday clothes to visit with loved ones.
Sheriff Elias Diggins got the idea after watching the Netflix documentary, "Daughters." He said it shows young girls getting to visit their incarcerated fathers while they're wearing everyday clothes.
As the son of a formerly incarcerated man, Diggins said he knows this will have a positive impact not only on the inmates but also on their kids.
"My dad was in this jail when I was a kid," Sheriff Diggins said. "Seeing your parent coming out in an inmate uniform is something that you never get out of your mind."
According to Diggins, 97% of the people in custody at the jail are going back into the community.
"How do we want them coming back? That is the question that everyone should ask themselves," he said.
His answer to that question looks like a closet full of regular clothes, not jumpsuits, provided by Goodwill.
Inmates can change into them before stepping into a visitation room.
According to Joanne Belknap, criminologist and professor emerita of the Department of Ethnic Studies at CU Boulder, this decision would restore dignity to inmates and could reduce the psychological impacts on children.
"To see your kids and have them see you as normal is really important for the kids, too," said Belknap. "It's really important for them to see mom as they know her, mommy as they know her."
Belknap has interviewed incarcerated men, women and children, and she's studied the trends.
"The children of parents who are incarcerated, particularly mothers who are incarcerated, are going to be less likely to finish high school, less likely to go to college," she said.
Those kids and his own childhood experience are part of Sheriff Diggins' explanation when asked why he'd want to better dress someone in custody.
He said if we want to bring families together, reduce trauma, and give kids a better opportunity at success in their own lives, "Why not change those folks out into regular clothes?"
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