Convicts Clear Flood Area in Oklahoma County Instead of Sitting Behind Bars

News9.com

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Instead of sitting behind bars, some people convicted of non-violent crimes in Oklahoma County are helping to prevent another disaster in an area devastated by summer floods.

They're part of the SHINE crew, which stands for Start Helping Impacted Neighborhoods Everywhere. The pilot program recently started in District Two of Oklahoma County.

On Thursday, half a dozen people sentenced to community service spent the day cleaning debris out of Lightning Creek. Back in July, heavy rains caused the creek to swell out of its banks, flooding more than 200 homes in southwest Oklahoma City.

District Two Commissioner Brian Maughan says the county has had to cut back on services such as groundskeeping because of the struggling economy. He says the SHINE program helps fill the gap, save the county money, and use a resource that otherwise would have been wasted.

"Instead of putting them in jail where they get three square meals a day and an air conditioned cell, they actually have to come out here and do some hard back breaking work."

The crews work Monday through Friday. The court has allotted 16,000 community service hours to the program. So far, the county has used about one-third of those hours.