MONROE - A new program that allows some jail inmates to wear an electronic tracking device saved Green County $48,900 in the first six months since it started, according to Sheriff Jeff Skatrud.
Since the sheriff's department established the program June 22, inmates who meet guidelines can opt to pay $15 per day to wear an electronic anklet that allows them to serve their sentence while living at home. The program isn't available to inmates convicted of violent crimes, domestic abuse, most sex offenses or a fourth or higher offense of driving while intoxicated. Deputies on patrol make routine, unannounced check-ins to inmates in the program.
At any given time, four or five inmates are taking advantage of the program, Skatrud said. It adds up. The jail logged a combined total of 941 days from electronically monitored inmates.
The jail doesn't need to feed these inmates, give them clean linens and uniforms or provide them with medical attention. The savings from meals alone was $3,600 in 2011, according to Skatrud. He presented the progress of the program at a Law Enforcement and Public Safety Committee meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 11.
The program costs the department $11.50 daily per inmate to operate, he added, so it's actually been a source of revenue at $3.50 for every day an inmate pays to use it. The jail contracts with the Colorado-based company BI Incorporated for the system's software and hardware. The state Department of Corrections started using BI services in 2010.
In comparison, it costs the jail about $52 per day to house an inmate, Skatrud said.
As a result of the monitoring program, the jail is decreasing its contract for medical services in 2012 and made other revisions to the budget.
"We also were able to reduce our jail kitchen budget request to account for having to prepare almost 4,000 less jail meals for the year," Skatrud said this week. "We will have a better idea as time progresses on how much we are saving. My disclaimer is that if for some reason the number of people arrested and sentenced to jail increases, that savings would be eaten up."
Another challenge is predicting the jail population year to year, he said.
Last year's daily average was 49 inmates. In 2009 and 2010, the average was 52. In 2008, it was 55. In recent years, the jail "had spikes for a couple months where we were is the 60s and close to having to rent space from another jail, and early last year, it was in the low 40s. We just don't know what each year will bring."
Also announced at the Jan. 11 meeting:
n Shane Eddy, Monroe, has been hired as a full-time jail deputy and will begin training on Monday, Jan. 23. Eddy previously served six years as a correctional officer for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, worked at Monroe Powersports and Pomp's Tires and was a corrections specialist in the U.S. Army for seven years. Eddy will be sworn in on Thursday, Jan. 19.
n Eight traffic fatalities were reported in Green County in 2011, up from three in 2010. Skatrud said there doesn't seem to be any explanation for the spike, which included a three-fatality crash near Juda in March.
Since the sheriff's department established the program June 22, inmates who meet guidelines can opt to pay $15 per day to wear an electronic anklet that allows them to serve their sentence while living at home. The program isn't available to inmates convicted of violent crimes, domestic abuse, most sex offenses or a fourth or higher offense of driving while intoxicated. Deputies on patrol make routine, unannounced check-ins to inmates in the program.
At any given time, four or five inmates are taking advantage of the program, Skatrud said. It adds up. The jail logged a combined total of 941 days from electronically monitored inmates.
The jail doesn't need to feed these inmates, give them clean linens and uniforms or provide them with medical attention. The savings from meals alone was $3,600 in 2011, according to Skatrud. He presented the progress of the program at a Law Enforcement and Public Safety Committee meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 11.
The program costs the department $11.50 daily per inmate to operate, he added, so it's actually been a source of revenue at $3.50 for every day an inmate pays to use it. The jail contracts with the Colorado-based company BI Incorporated for the system's software and hardware. The state Department of Corrections started using BI services in 2010.
In comparison, it costs the jail about $52 per day to house an inmate, Skatrud said.
As a result of the monitoring program, the jail is decreasing its contract for medical services in 2012 and made other revisions to the budget.
"We also were able to reduce our jail kitchen budget request to account for having to prepare almost 4,000 less jail meals for the year," Skatrud said this week. "We will have a better idea as time progresses on how much we are saving. My disclaimer is that if for some reason the number of people arrested and sentenced to jail increases, that savings would be eaten up."
Another challenge is predicting the jail population year to year, he said.
Last year's daily average was 49 inmates. In 2009 and 2010, the average was 52. In 2008, it was 55. In recent years, the jail "had spikes for a couple months where we were is the 60s and close to having to rent space from another jail, and early last year, it was in the low 40s. We just don't know what each year will bring."
Also announced at the Jan. 11 meeting:
n Shane Eddy, Monroe, has been hired as a full-time jail deputy and will begin training on Monday, Jan. 23. Eddy previously served six years as a correctional officer for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, worked at Monroe Powersports and Pomp's Tires and was a corrections specialist in the U.S. Army for seven years. Eddy will be sworn in on Thursday, Jan. 19.
n Eight traffic fatalities were reported in Green County in 2011, up from three in 2010. Skatrud said there doesn't seem to be any explanation for the spike, which included a three-fatality crash near Juda in March.