Rookses bring rules, privileges to new LEC
By Jack Dura
Farmer Staff Writer
After decades in corrections, Lt. Ken Rooks understands the power of privileges.
Incarceration doesn’t have to be about locking someone up and throwing away the key, he said; rather, a little positive reinforcement can go a long way.
“I really believe corrections is the first step to rehabilitation, in all honesty,” he said.
“You have to work with them, try to provide programming, try to provide some kind of rehabilitation, even on these county levels,” he added. “I think it helps our whole community.”
The McKenzie County Law Enforcement Center is certainly a step up from its predecessor, Rooks said, an overflowing facility that lacked programming as inmates shuffled around the state to available beds.
Some privileges are already reaping rewards, and not just for inmates’ benefit: Secure inmate texting brought in almost $1,000 in March, said Jo Rooks, quality assurance coordinator.
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