HOUSE ARREST
The residential home confinement
and Breath Alcohol Monitoring programs, which are commonly known
as House Arrest and BAM, allow low-risk offenders to serve their
time in their residences rather than in secure custody. The participants
of the program live at home, maintain employment and serve on community
work programs. Inmates in this program pay all costs associated
with the electronic monitoring. The House Arrest sentencing option
frees up jail bed space for more serious offenders as well as saves
the costs of incarceration.
Electronic monitoring devices used
by the program vary upon the individual situation. Today’s
electronic supervision devices may include the traditional ankle
bracelet, global positioning system or a combination of bracelet
and video blood alcohol unit. For cases in which alcohol is an issue,
breath samples may be required several times daily. As a condition
of the program, random drug testing may take place.
The ankle transmitter “talks”
to a receiving unit that is connected to a telephone line at the
inmate’s residence. If the inmate attempts to disconnect the
unit, an alarm is broadcast to a monitoring station. If the inmate
does not make scheduled calls to the monitoring agency, the alarm
is also set off. If the inmate is on the Breath Alcohol Monitor,
scheduled and random calls are made directing the inmate to blow
into a breath alcohol device and look into a camera simultaneously.
A blood alcohol reading is then registered at the monitoring company.
Sheriff’s Office personnel are notified of tests that show
a positive reading.
Global Positioning System or GPS
equipment allows monitoring of frequently visited locations of an
offender. The Sheriff’s Office is notified of all alarms and
“walkaways” within moments.
Deputies assigned to monitor inmates participating in this program
are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond.
In 2006, there was 1, 568 participants
placed on house arrest. This resulted in a savings of 24,281 jail
days which equates to an annual cost savings of $2,027,706.
The House Arrest, Sheriff's Community
Work Program, HELP, Inmate Work Program, Consolidated Graffiti Unit
and Inmate Counseling programs function under the Alternatives to
Incarceration Unit to provide consistency and provide for a consolidated
unit with versatile staff able to deal with all situations that
arise.
