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Technology helps Cheney to save on jail costs

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Global positioning and remote monitoring help Municipal Court track and supervise offenders

The Cheney Municipal Court is using technology to save money on jail costs.

The court reported an estimated $25,000 drop in jail costs for 2009 from last year's total, a savings that court commissioner Terri Cooper attributes to ankle bracelets. The court contracted in February with Moon Security for electronic home monitoring (EHM) bracelets, which use global positioning signals to track offenders, and Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitors (SCRAM), which measure alcohol levels in the body for alcohol-related offenders. Both bracelets alert officials if offenders are violating their probation.

Cooper said the city has seen savings because these devices allow the court to monitor offenders without locking them up. It's a relief in a time when Spokane County jail is full and the cost to house inmates keeps rising. Cooper said they help in other ways as well.

"We were looking for alternatives, one, to reduce recidivism with something that was more meaningful than just putting people in jail," she said. "And then also that it was effective in deterring future bad behavior."

Though this year's local numbers aren't in yet, a recent study conducted in North Carolina showed that 98 percent of DUI offenders who wore a SCRAM bracelet did not re-offend while they were wearing it, and there was a 14 percent decrease in recidivism after it was removed compared with those who did not wear the bracelet.

Cooper said she was happy with the result so far, noting, "It is a sanction, but it's more of a deterrent so that person can get sober and get into treatment."

John Peterson, EHM manager for Moon Security, said the bracelets help offenders to take responsibility in their lives.

"They're just held accountable," he said. "The home monitoring allows them to be still functional in the community, paying taxes and working."

Cooper said the contract with Moon has been more than worth the cost. While the cost to house one inmate at Spokane County Jail or Geiger Corrections Facility is more than $80 per day, the EHM bracelet and the SCRAM bracelet are both $11 per day.

"Jail costs have basically doubled from 2005 to 2009," Cooper said. While the 2009 bill of $72,000 is much higher than 2005's $40,600, it's a big reduction from 2008, when costs edged six digits at $97,300.

Cooper said the savings would allow the court to budget less for 2010.

Becky Thomas can be reached at becky@cheneyfreepress.com.



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© 2009 Cheney Free Press Cheney, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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