Jailers in the Atlanta area are getting free electric vehicles as a recruitment and retention incentive.
The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office is leasing a fleet of Chevy Bolt EVs from Jim Ellis Chevrolet for what it says is “likely the only program of its kind for jailers nationwide.” Employees at DeKalb County Jail are eligible for the Detention Officer Take-Home Vehicle Program as long as they are in good standing and have completed their six-month probationary period.
Sheriff Melody Maddox said she wants to give EVs to as many as 100 jail employees, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
“One of the biggest responsibilities that we have is the care, custody and control of the inmates that are incarcerated here at the jail,” Maddox said. “And we depend on [detention officers] to get here, to be here and to continue to move this agency forward.”
Officials said lease costs are expected to run about $500,000 a year. Maddox got the program started last month by surprising two employees with new Bolts.
“I’m baffled,” Brenda Coley told the newspaper after being handed a set of keys. “I really don’t know what to say.”