Boston - Rodney Dailey has joined the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department as its Business Corporate Community Liaison. He will be responsible for reaching out to corporations and companies in the Boston area and working with them to provide jobs for offenders preparing to re–enter society. Dailey will also be in charge of assembling an Industry Council made up of business and community leaders who will work to find employment opportunities for ex–offenders and provide information regarding the needs of the current job market. This information will be vital to the Common Ground Institute (CGI), an inmate re–entry program at the House of Correction. CGI prepares inmates for re-entry through a job readiness course and vocational training. Dailey’s work with the Industry Council will ensure that vocational training provided by CGI reflects the needs of potential employers.

“It’s very important to provide this population with the skills they’ll need to find jobs when they’re released and to work with employers willing to hire ex–offenders,” Dailey said. “With the present CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information) laws in effect, ex-offenders face huge hurdles when looking for work. Employment is one of the first steps towards reducing violence and recidivism so we need to get them back on the right path as quick as possible.”

This is not the first time Dailey has worked to stem the tide of violence and incarceration in Boston. In the late 1980s, Dailey founded Gang Peace, an organization that facilitated discussions between gang members to solve disputes, rather than resorting to violence. The program was hugely successful and was recognized on both the local and national levels. In 1991, Dailey and Gang Peace were awarded the 1,000th Point of Light from President George Bush. Dailey continued his work by expanding Gang Peace through a pilot organization, Street Peace. Street Peace was created as a violence prevention, intervention, and mediation program focusing not only on youth involved in gang activity, but also youths at risk or vulnerable of engaging in the destructive behavior that leads to violence and crime. Dailey will report to Steve Tompkins, Chief of Communications and External Affairs.

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