(Jefferson City) Missouri’s county jail admissions have been relatively flat since 2010 but jail populations have climbed by 50-percent.
The Council of State Government’s Justice Center research also says Missourians in jail for felonies spend an average of 191 days behind bars before they’re sentenced.
State Department of Corrections Director Anne Precythe says a task force is considering whether to reimburse counties a specific amount of money each year for offenders who end up going to prison.
Precythe says the data also shows that how long offenders stay in jail have contributed to a 50-percent increase in Missouri jail populations.
The current jail reimbursement system requires counties to bill the state, spend staff time figuring those costs and waiting months to be reimbursed.
Source: JusticeCenter