Gregory seeks to expand RISE, ORBIT programs

Alisa Gregory, the Democratic nominee for the Henrico sheriff's seat, is the chief deputy of the Henrico Sheriff’s Office, where she has worked since 1998 after entering as a deputy at Henrico County Regional Jail East. She has been an investigator for alternative sentencing, the sergeant for jail programs and services, a lieutenant for jail programs and services, lieutenant training director, captain of administration and major of administration.

Gregory’s main areas of focus are jail overcrowding, community outreach and recruitment and retention.

Gregory hopes to form community partnerships with recovery and transition organizations such as Real Life and McShin Foundation to help divert people away from jail and help them while they are in the community, she said.

Helping inmates foster relationships, particularly with their family, while they are still incarcerated will help them transition once they leave, she said.

Gregory wants to expand the RISE and ORBIT program into the community, she said. The holistic approach to helping people that focuses on job skills, education and relationships is what drew her to Real Life and McShin, she said, and these programs help reduce recidivism.

Gregory would like to partner with the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office to find alternatives for non-violent offenders, work with judges to expand home electronic monitoring, drug court, weekend time and work release and continue to partner with the crisis intervention team to make sure that offenders with mental health needs get the treatment they need, according to her website. She would also establish an advisory panel to help develop a treatment plan to address the needs of female offenders.

The sheriff’s office should build on its current cooperation with county agencies such as public safety, the police and fire departments, mental health and others, Gregory said.
Gregory would audit the sheriff’s office’s contracts, she said, such as those for inmate health, food and canteen and check for room for savings.

Gregory’s website outlines her plan to establish a faith advisory commission to help inmates re-enter the community and strengthen substance abuse programs. She also would use inter-agency cooperation with the Henrico Police and Fire departments and human resources to expand the sheriff office’s applicant pool, enhance the office’s social media presence and enhance career development, according to the site.

Gregory highlighted training as a key component of retention.

“I think the succession management piece, that’s what has kept me here, in Henrico, for 21 years, because I’ve had all kinds of training opportunities, as leadership, as management," she said. "I’ve earned two degrees here, so it is, for me the ability to train and hone in my skills, that’s a quality that keeps people. I want to make sure that we keep doing that, that we keep providing those opportunities to staff to be able to grow and learn and train.

“If we ensure that we take care of our staff, our staff is going to take care of the inmates, which in turn is how we give back and take care of the community."

Wade, the current sheriff and a Republican, has endorsed Gregory, although she is now running for the Democratic nomination after briefly planning to run as a Republican.

“I’ve been a Democrat all my life. That’s my voting record,” Gregory said. “My ideals line up with the ideology of the Democratic party. I believe everyone should be treated fairly. Resources should be delved out equitably. I just could not bring myself to not stay true to who I am.”

That said, the sheriff takes on a role bigger than politics, Gregory said, and serves every member of the county.