We are writing this on the anniversary of Adam Rappaport’s death. He hanged himself in Albany County’s jail on Oct. 18, 2014.

His mother, Maryanne, had the courage to tell his story on our pages. At 29, Adam, a bright and charismatic young man, had a life that was spinning out of control.

After a snowboard accident ruptured his spleen, he became hooked on the prescribed pain meds. When requirements tightened for oxycodone, he turned to heroin. He couldn’t hold a job, he’d used up his days for treatment, and he was living in the city mission.

When Maryanne Rappaport heard a television news description of attempted burglary in Guilderland, she knew the suspect was her son. She went to the police, though it pained her, because she thought Adam would be safe in jail.

He was not.

Christian Clark, superintendent of Albany County’s jail, told us last year, “We are seeing an increase of folks who are coming in with heroin dependency or charges with selling or using heroin.”

The jail had nearly 7,000 inmates over the course of a year with the average stay at 30 days, making it hard to find a solution to what had become a turnstile — addicts serving their time and then returning to the streets, where they sold heroin or committed crimes to get money to feed their habits.

Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said at the time that a prison is not a rehab center.

On this page, we hammered away on the theme that it could and should be. For inmates who wanted to kick their habits, the Albany County Correctional Facility, as it is officially called, could work to correct the addicts’ behavior. Such a program would well serve not just the addicts but society at large.

The high recidivism rate is costly — in money spent and lives wasted.

Earlier this month, Sheriff Apple started a pilot program for jailed addicts. We commend him.

He told our reporter Elizabeth Floyd Mair that he hopes the Sheriff’s Heroin Addiction Recovery Program (SHARP) will help turn jail into a positive and even life-changing experience for inmates who are addicted to drugs but want to quit.

Inmates in the program — five volunteered for the pilot — will have to be detoxed and then will live together in a tier where they will undergo intensive treatment and counseling. After completing the program, on the way out of jail, they will be given Vivitrol — a non-addictive drug that blocks dependencies for a month — and taken directly to a treatment program. Vivitrol, which Apple says costs about $900 a shot, is being donated by its manufacturer.

A year ago, the sheriff’s office worked with the Soldier On program to better serve the needs of and try to reduce recidivism among incarcerated veterans by housing them in a separate ward and offering services customized to each one. The recidivism rate is less than 2 percent for that program, which Apple termed “unheard of.”

Those who commit crimes need to pay their debt to society, but how great it would be if, by doing their time, they could also turn their lives around to become productive members of that society.

Apple said he thought that the new program could have helped in a case like Adam Rappaport’s. It is, of course, too late for that, but we hope Mrs. Rappaport, who monthly places flowers in front of the jail to honor her son, takes comfort in knowing others may be spared her agony.

Another commendable change at the sheriff’s office is this sentence added to the policy on use of Tasers or pepper spray: “If possible, members should avoid using Taser equipment...on passively resisting suspects.”

We consider this a small but important step in the right direction. The change was made in August, the month after The Enterprise ran a front-page story by Mair and an editorial examining local police policies on stun-gun use. The story and editorial were prompted by a traffic stop where a sheriff’s deputy fired his Taser at a young man who had his hands up.

The two had a verbal exchange and the deputy pulled the trigger as soon as backup arrived on the scene; the driver collapsed to the ground. The incident was recorded both by the patrol car’s dashboard camera and on the cell phone of the driver’s friend.

We pointed out then that the sheriff’s policy stipulates a broader range of situations in which the Taser may be used than do the policies of either the Guilderland or Altamont police. Both of those local police departments’ policies state that Tasers should be used only in cases where suspects are resisting with violence — toward police, other people, or themselves.

The sheriff’s policy was the only one that allowed for Taser use as needed in cases of “fleeing suspects” or “riot control,” and “circumstances when the subject overtly demonstrates that they are non-compliant with verbal commands.” The latter is what brought the argumentative and noncompliant, but nonviolent, driver to the ground.

A Taser can kill. Amnesty International says that, between 2001 and 2012, at least 540 people in the United States died after being shocked with Tasers. Therefore, we still support narrowing the use of a potentially lethal weapon to situations where someone — an officer, a victim, or a subject — is actually in danger.

So, there is more to be done.

A new frontier where we urge Sheriff Apple to make changes is in asset forfeiture. The offices of the sheriff and district attorney in Albany County have funds to spend when money or goods are seized from criminals. Too often, as we’ve pointed out on this page before, these funds are used for political self-promotion.

The money is seized by public servants and meant to be used for the public good.

Transparency is needed. The amounts of money seized should be regularly and routinely disclosed. Guidelines should be drawn up on how the money is to be spent, and a clear record should be made of how and when and to whom those funds are disbursed.

A good public servant answers people’s concerns.

The sheriff’s office is important because it enforces laws dealing with common crimes that affect many people, and it also covers a wide variety of tasks from courts to jails to airport to paramedics. It’s unfortunate the sheriff is unopposed in this election; choices offer a chance to air viewpoints, crystalize issues, and defend stances.

Still, we scrutinized Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple, and we find he has made some important and commendable strides. We urge him to keep moving forward.

— Melissa Hale-Spencer