Hey there Paul. Having jail as a part of your story or not, is not needed to go into the corrections service work that AA does.
For me, having all the legal stuff behind me made me a better candidate. The police dept. wants AA's who they can trust. The inmates do not need info on how to survive in jail. They need to know how to survive on the outside. I work in the local jail, so these girls are doing less than 2 years time. Most are there 6 months or shorter.
Your local AA should have a corrections meeting on the outside where you can get an application to volunteer in the jail. Also ask questions on what is expected. Seriously, what is expected is reliability and a willingness to "carry the message".
I feel it has COMPLETELY changed my own personal recovery. The obsession to drink is completely gone 99.9% of the time. And that alone is worth the effort to me. Our BB says on page 15 I think that if we are to survive the certain trails ahead nothing works better than work with another alcoholic. I am just paraphrasing. Look it up and check me. ;-)
For me, I have found I have been able to get through the death of my dog (the hardest) the death of my mother-in-law (long story on my reaction to that one) the death of my sponcee, and continue to cope with a less than fulfilling relationship, destroyed by years and years of my drinking. So far, I have not had to take a drink, but I have always stayed active and a regular at the meetings.
For me, just warming a seat does not do it for me, I have to be all in. I certainly was all in with my drinking.