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Jail expansion studies have been done for the last 10 years, but Spoden said the phased construction study is necessary because alternatives to incarceration weren't factored into the other studies.

The average jail population was 588 in 2006 and 581 in 2007, when talks of a jail expansion were common, Spoden said. This year, the jail population has ranged from 480-520 per day so far. The rated capacity of the jail is 477, but there are 525 beds for inmates, Spoden said.

With alternatives to incarceration - the Electronic Monitoring Program, the Workender Program/Workender Midweek Program and Community RECAP (Rock County Education and Criminal Addictions Program) - the county has been able to reduce the number of inmates in jail, Spoden said.

“It takes off the pressure of needing to build sooner rather than later,” Spoden said.

Rock County used to ship 90 inmates a day to other jails at the cost of $52-$55 per inmate per day, due to overcrowding, Spoden said. Yet since June, the county hasn't been sending its inmates to other jails, and Spoden has not requested money in the 2009 budget to pay for shipping inmates out of Rock County.

Besides alternative programs, the economy in Rock County also played a factor in Spoden's decision to hold off on a jail expansion project.

With the GM assembly plant in Janesville closing, record foreclosures and difficult economic times, Spoden said he did not want to embark on a costly project.

“For me to ignore that (bad economy) and continue to ask the taxpayers to spend millions of dollars � I didn't think it was responsible, not only as an elected official, but also as a citizen,” Spoden said, adding he knows people who have lost their jobs and fallen on tough times.

Predicting trends in the jail population is difficult, but Spoden said he thinks the county can hold off the jail expansion because alternative programs can address many of the crimes that might be committed. In the past when the county faced tough economic times and a high unemployment rate, more crimes occurred that involved petty theft, alcohol or domestic situations, Spoden said.

Even though the jail project will be on hold now, Spoden said eventually the county would need to renovate parts of the jail. The infrastructure is more than 20 years old, but now may not be the right time for an expensive project.

Spoden said, “I can't reiterate enough that there have to be some responsibilities as an elected official to take into account the current economic conditions in Rock County.”

By the numbers

Jail

520 - inmates in jail on Monday, which Spoden said was slightly higher than average because of weekend arrests

525 - total number of beds in jail

477 - rated capacity of the Rock County Jail

$64/day - cost to house each inmate at the Rock County Jail

$52-$55/day - cost to house additional inmates outside of the county, which has not been done since June

Alternative programs
85 - on the electronic monitoring bracelet

40 - in Workender program

62 - Community RECAP (Rock County Education and Criminal Addictions Program)

187 - total number of inmates diverted into alternative programs at the moment

Source: Rock County

Sheriff Robert Spoden

http://www.beloitdailynews.com/articles/2008/10/08/news/local_news/news04.prt
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