Associated Press Published

Alternative Programs Cut Costs for W.Va. County Jail

Prison Bars

Officials in one West Virginia county say they’re spending less on jail by routing some offenders through alternative programs instead.

The Journal of Martinsburg reports Berkeley County’s bill for the Eastern Regional Jail was down to nearly $646,000 for the three months ending in February, from nearly $800,000 during the same period the year before.

The county has three programs that reroute offenders from the jail. The Day Report Center program allows offenders arrested in drug-related, non-violent crimes to participate in a substance abuse program.

The other two, home confinement and community service, require offenders to wear a monitoring device at home or assigns them to work crews.

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