Added Space = Added Cash For Jail
A program aimed at keeping alcohol-related offenders out of jail is saving money, and it’s helping the Minnehaha County SD Jail to sometimes bring in more than $10,000 a day in fees to house inmates from other jurisdictions.
In 2005, the 24/7 sobriety program began as a pilot in Sioux Falls, Rapid City and Winner. It aimed to reduce the number of alcohol-related offenders entering jails. Now, some sheriffs say the number of local inmates has been reduced. That has led to reduced costs and more space to rent out beds for federal inmates and inmates from other counties. “It’s literally saving millions of dollars if we’re able to manage inmate numbers like this,” Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead said. “It saves the taxpayer money when those beds are filled by somebody else paying the bills” … “We’re not making any money on these prisoners,” Milstead said. “But while we’re having beds occupied by inmates paid by another agency, it allows us to do things like pay the debt service on the new jail, and to better cope with the increasing costs associated with inmate health care, prescriptions and mental health services.”
The sobriety program, which monitors people for alcohol and drugs, now is in 57 counties, with more than 2,000 people on the program being monitored by technology that includes daily Breathalyzer tests and urine tests, South Dakota Attorney General Larry Long said. Other sheriffs have reported reductions in local inmate numbers, and the program also has benefited sheriffs of counties that do not have jails, he said. “I’ve been told that sheriffs of counties without jails have seen a cost savings because they are not having to rent as many beds in counties with jails,” Long said …
Minnehaha County charges its clients $76 to $78 a day to house an inmate, with prices negotiated on a regular basis, Milstead said. As a 400-bed jail, he said he is able to keep the jail mostly full and can sometimes bring in more than $10,000 a day in fees for housing government and other county prisoners. “Our biggest customer is the federal government,” Milstead said.
The sobriety program ends up being self-sustaining, with those on the program required to pay fees for the testing and some of the technology. That raised enough money to pay for the program and its staff.
Drug Treatment & Diversion, Federal Payments, SD Minnehaha County
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