In a remarkable private venture, the nation’s sheriffs have joined with some leading criminal justice reform advocates, such as Jay-Z and Van Jones, to deliver masks and other personal protective equipment to every jail in America.
The National Sheriffs’ Association and the REFORM Alliance, working with a $10 million donation from Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, said the equipment will help save the lives of inmates and law enforcement officers taking care of the facilities.
Both groups have been leaders in supplying jails with protective equipment. REFORM has already delivered more than 200,000 masks to jails, including at Rikers Island in New York and Cook County in Illinois, and the NSA has secured more than 200,000 masks from private partnerships for its Mask Project.
“America’s sheriffs are grateful to the REFORM Alliance for providing the scarcely available life-saving equipment that are vital to the maintaining their jails during the pandemic,” said incoming NSA President Sheriff Dave Mahoney of Dare County, Wisconsin. “These masks will ensure sheriffs are able to keep their jails as safe and healthy as possible. We look forward to partnering with REFORM on areas as we move forward,” he said in a statement.
REFORM’s supporters include music legend Jay-Z, liberal activist Van Jones, and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, among others. It has worked with the Trump administration and others to promote judicial reform, such as the programs put in place by the president.
“Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to keep our communities safe,” said REFORM Alliance Chief Advocacy Officer Jessica Jackson. “We’re proud to partner with the National Sheriffs Association to help protect them and vulnerable populations in our jails from the coronavirus,” she added.
According to a fact sheet, the nation’s sheriffs oversee 85% of the more than 3,200 jails in 43 states across the country.
A spokesman said the NSA will work with REFORM to reach the right law enforcement authorities in all 50 states to deliver the personal protective equipment for inmates and jail and medical staff.
