America’s criminal justice system does little to keep people out of jail or rehabilitate criminals so they don’t continue to break the law.

Instead, the U.S. incarcerates more people than any other country on Earth.

According to PrisonPolicy.org, the U.S. locks up 716 people for every 100,000 residents and most of those people end up back in jail. About five in six, or 83 percent, state prisoners released in 2005 across 30 states were arrested at least once in the 9 years following their release, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

“The younger you are, the higher the chances of you going back to prison, unfortunately, so it’s been refreshing to see somebody come out with their eye on the prize,” IMPD Det. Jamin Davis told WTHR 13.

Though 17-year-old Rameil Pitamber got himself into some trouble after going through some hard times, he refused to be counted among the recidivism statistics.

So, he enlisted the help of an unlikely person… the police officer that arrested him.

Pitamber was once an honor student but began to struggle after his dad died.

“I was lost. I had a lot to prove. And I felt like to prove it, I had to be tough,” Pitamber told CBS News. “I was a follower, and one poor decision led to the next.”

One of those poor decisions was to rob a Little Ceasars at gunpoint with a friend who worked there. This resulted in an 11-year prison sentence. He ended up only serving four because of his good behavior.

When Pitamber got out of jail he started working at a Goodwill. He wanted to start a home improvement and real estate business but felt that he needed a mentor to succeed.

“My goal was to not go back to prison. But I didn’t 100% know what to do to not go back to prison,” he said. “And I knew that he knew that.”

While working at the Goodwill one day, he ran into Avon Police Department Assistant Chief Brian Nugent who arrested him. But Pitamber didn’t see the man who arrested him walk through that door, he saw his future mentor.

“I finally just go up and asked him, ‘Hey, do you remember me?’ and he said, ‘Yes’,” Pitamber said. “I gave him a hug and we reconnected from there and I asked him to be my mentor.”

After all, who better to help him stay out of jail than a police officer? And Nugent was very willing to help.

“When someone comes to you and they recognize that and they ask for help, you help them,” Nugent said.

Nugent told Pitamber that if he was going to be Pitamber’s mentor they would have to touch base at least every month, go out for lunch, and have some conversations

Nugent helped Pitamber learn how to parallel park so that Pitamber could get his license and also helped him to build his self-esteem and confidence.

Nugent also talked to Pitamber about finding a job and how to navigate questions about his background. Now Pitamber has a steady job doing heating and air conditioning.

He’s also going to school and renovating his own home He hopes to one day mentor other kids who were in his situation.

Pitamber says he’s extremely grateful for his mentor.

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By D.G. Sciortino

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D.G. is a contributing writer in Shareably. She's based in Connecticut and can be reached at [email protected].