NCJ Number
166705
Journal
American Jails Volume: 10 Issue: 5 Dated: (November/December 1996) Pages: 71-73
Date Published
1996
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes the development and implementation of Weber County's (Utah) Community Service Program.
Abstract
The program, which was funded by a 1995 grant, was designed to provide the courts with an alternative to incarceration for selected classes of offenders. Those classes targeted were arrested for drunk driving, misdemeanor theft, and other nonviolent offenses. Currently the community service staff includes two full-time correctional staff members and two part- time correctional staff. The program operates 7 days a week, 8 hours a day, to accommodate the offender as well as the courts. Some examples of projects in which the program has participated are a partial renovation of an abandoned county-owned school for the use of the Community Service Program as offices and storage; snow removal from around public buildings; cleaning roadways, public parks, and county fairgrounds; removal of weeds and trees around water containment ponds; and the installation of sprinkler systems and laying sod. Since the implementation of the program, the jail population has been reduced, and this ensures that there are adequate beds for high-risk offenders. The intent of the program is not only to provide the courts with an alternative to incarceration but to benefit the victim, community, and the offender.