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Quoted from appended article:
"(the program) could be up and running in 60 days, though it would take a while to go through the court system and sentence 50 appropriate people."
What's proposed is the creation of a new prisoner monitoring system, the funding of which would be generated, in part, by user fees that presumably will be charged to the prisoners themselves. But in order to get the program up and running, this Wisconsin country apparently(?) needs to arrest, try and convict 50 of the right sort of people. Perhaps there's a peace march being planned nearby from which suitable demonstrators can be culled.
Scott
PS... You'd think the new system will be outsourced. If so, I wonder who'll be awarded the contract -- Dyncorp, Halliburton, Wackenhut or perhaps the concessionaire of Abu Ghraib?
"Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of the day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period, and pursued unalterably through every change of ministers (administrators) too plainly proves a deliberate, systematic plan of reducing us to slavery." -Thomas Jefferson
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Winnebago County eyes inmate monitoring plan
Posted: Tuesday, Nov 30, 2004
By Jen Scherer - Daily News staff writer
ROCKFORD - If a new program is approved, Winnebago County may be able
to keep some inmates out of the jail and save money at the same time.
After much research, Sheriff Richard Meyers said his department modeled
an electronic monitoring program after the Cook County program.
The local judges signed off on the program, and it has been presented
to the public safety commission, which is part of the county board, as
well as a 24-member citizens committee. If the public safety commission
approves the program, it will go to the finance committee and then to
full board, Meyers said.
"(We're) giving the board the opportunity to review it," Meyers said.
"They'll determine if they fund it and if they do, how they'll find the
dollars to do it."
According to Meyers' research, the electronic monitoring program would actually cost less than housing the inmates in jail.
Based on 50 inmates using the program, the initial cost would be
$739,000 per year. Of that, the county will recover $200,000 in user
fees.
It costs between $50 and $62 per day, on average, to house each inmate
in the jail. That would translate to at least $2,500 per day to house
the same inmates, or $912,500 per year. Once the transportation costs
and other fees are added in, it costs closer to $1.2 million to house
50 inmates for a year, he said.
"The key is finding those inmates that pose the least risk to the community," Meyers said.
Overcrowding in the jail is an ongoing problem which dates back to the
mid-1990s. While the county is in the process of building a new jail,
the facility will have only 1,200 beds, and as it stands, jail
population is projected to keep growing and surpass that, Meyers said.
As a result, Meyers said he is working to implement programs that will
keep the numbers down, while keeping the community safe. Electronic
monitoring, he believes, would do just that.
"This is how we're going to keep down to the 1,200 level in the new facility," Meyers said.
The county had an electronic monitoring program about 15 years ago, but
the program failed because of a lack of proper staffing, Meyers said.
"The key to making it safe for the community is providing appropriate
staff," Meyers said. "Without that oversight, it's too risky to the
public."
He is proposing eight new hires to run and oversee the program. One
person would be responsible for determining appropriate candidates for
electronic monitoring, others would install the technology in the
inmate's home and attach the ankle device on the inmate, while one
deputy per shift would be assigned to respond to alarms and do spot
checks to ensure the inmates are where they're supposed to be.
Meyers said the technology is pretty advanced. The system could, for
example, be set up so that inmates do breathalyzer tests by the phone.
People with certain types of previous convictions, or who are accused
of certain crimes, would not be eligible for electronic monitoring.
Eligibility would be determined on a case by case basis.
If the county does approve program funding, Meyers said it could be up
and running in 60 days, though it would take a while to go through the
court system and sentence 50 appropriate people.
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- Privatization 
