County Board approves new jail expansion plan

By BETH WHEELOCK ( Contact ) Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008

Jail overcrowding in Rock County has decreased so dramatically the county board is putting the brakes on a once-unavoidable jail expansion project.

Sheriff Bob Spoden says Rock County hasn't housed inmates in other counties, at a cost of approximately $55 per inmate per day, since June. Thursday's jail population was 509, compared to last year's average daily inmate population of 581.

The alternatives to incarceration also reduce recidivism. He says sixty percent of those who participated in the Community RECAP program didn't go back to jail. RECAP is a program that provides treatment, education and vocational training to inmates. The county board voted Thursday night to proceed with a new phased expansion design due to the economy and a reduction in overcrowding.

The county will pay up to $42,500 for the new design.

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