Program for at-risk Gwinnett County teens named after correctional officer who was shot and killed

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A program that lets at-risk teens hear from Gwinnett County offenders at the county correctional complex about the reality of prison has been restored and renamed after murdered corrections officer Scott Riner.

The Scott Riner Prison Awareness Program ended in 2017 before Gwinnett Department of Corrections officials revived it in 2024 in honor of Riner.

The slain Gwinnett corrections officer was instrumental in running the program for years prior to his murder in 2022.

“He was always trying to help people,” said Gwinnett Corrections Department Cpt. Audrey Henderson, who worked with Riner.

Henderson says a woman approached her after Riner’s death and told her how much the program meant to her son and how much Riner’s involvement impacted his life.

“She said it had a big impact on him and how the child has really changed his life under the program with Scott Riner,” Henderson said.

Two groups of at-risk teens, typically those who have already been arrested and are in the juvenile system, now visit the Gwinnett Correctional Complex monthly to hear from adult offenders about what life in prison is like.

It comes at a time when it appears violent crime committed by Gwinnett juveniles is on the rise.

“More acts involving guns, more acts involving drugs and that’s when it starts to get really dangerous,” said Gwinnett Juvenile Court Judge Nhan-Ai Du.

Du says many kids who come into her court are misled by gang members and popular culture about prison.

“It’s not, you know, kind of idealistic what they see in the movies and making them seem cool and hard,” she said. “It’s actually a tough life to live.”

Riner’s hope was always to keep every child who visited from having to come back as an offender.

“We hope to be as successful as he was with it,” said Henderson.

As for the murder case against accused Riner’s accused killer, Yahya Abdulkadir, a trial date has not yet been set.