Work Crews To Hit Everett Streets This Month

Jack Jessup is very familiar with the streets of Everett.

Jessup is supervising the City’s new work crew program, a diversion effort that is part of the Safe Streets plan. As early as next week, work crews will begin trash and debris cleanup on Broadway, Smith Avenue and other high-traffic areas within the City. This is an opportunity for low-level offenders to have an alternative to prosecution.

Jessup recently retired after 35 years in law enforcement, including 27 with the Everett Police Department. At the beginning of his career, Jessup worked for the Phoenix Police Department.

He also worked at the Kansas State Industrial Reformatory in 1979. There, he supervised inmates on the work crew as they picked up trash along the freeways, as well as went to fairgrounds to help setup stands.

“What I found when I worked at the prison was if you can talk with them about their personal situation and take an interest in their lives, they will tend to listen to you,” Jessup said. “Bring a positive attitude to their life, like, ‘Hey you’re good at this – find something you can do like this when you get out in two years.’”

Throughout his career, whether he was walking the beat in Phoenix housing projects or working with local kids doing a reading and reward program, Jessup has always understood that it’s about building relationships. He wanted to change the public’s perception of law enforcement.

“As law enforcement, there are some negative perceptions, and I wanted to change that atmosphere and perspective,” Jessup said. “It’s important that we are approachable, so they know we are someone that can help and someone they can talk to. That allows us to gain respect with them.”

Jessup came to Everett in 1989, where he continued working to keep kids on track and building relationships within the community. Most recently, Jessup had the opportunity to assist in implementing another initiative of the Safe Streets plan – the embedded social worker program. Jessup and Lieutenant Bruce Bosman traveled down to Santa Monica for training after hearing of that department’s successful embedded social worker program.

After the trip, Jessup came back to Everett with momentum to assist in getting the embedded social worker program underway with Sergeant Mike Braley. Last June, Everett Police brought on their first embedded social worker, Lauren Rainbow, through a partnership with Snohomish County. Together, they began the outreach program, handing out business cards that allowed priority service for those who took up law enforcement on their offers for resources.

“We try to convince and motivate them to do something different than sleeping on the sidewalk and doing meth and heroin,” Jessup said.

One success story in particular involved helping a man who was living in the woods get treatment for his addiction and move into housing. After learning his story, Jessup and Rainbow were able to get him into a Salvation Army facility in Seattle. From there, the individual was able to get a job, receive support to stay off meth and even find his own apartment.

“Many people we talk to are people who have hit rock bottom and they just need to find their way out. We’re just here to convince them that we’re here to help,” Jessup said. “There are so many people we talk to who just need that extra little push of motivation and we’re there to show them where to get that help, including transportation and setting up services with the social worker.”

Jessup aims to build the same relationships with the work crew program, and wants to get participants back on the right track. In addition to supervising clean up, he will be working with social workers to implement a cognitive and behavioral skills training program for individuals in the program. He says that work crew will not only help those facing potential jail time or court fines, but also help people make positive change in their lives.

Work crews will begin trash and debris cleanup in mid-April.