Missouri State Jails
Situated in the western north-central area of the United States, Missouri ranks 19th in size among the 50 states of America, bound by Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee on the East, Arkansas on the South, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska on the West and Iowa on the North Missouri, the state has a population of approximately 6 million people.
Throughout Missouri's 115 counties there are 116 jail facilities with a combined rated capacity of 10,790 inmates. There is no inspection or jail standards program in the state.
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The crime rate in Missouri is about 12% higher than the national average rate. Property crimes account for around 87.9% of the crime rate in Missouri which is 12% higher than the national rate. The remaining 13.7% are violent crimes and are about 10% higher than other states.
Missouri has a rate 13% higher than the national average of incarcerated adults per 100,000, whilst the average number of probationers per 100,000 people stands at 32% lower than the national average rate, their average number of parolees per 100,000 people is currently 31% higher than the national average rate.
In 2009 taxpayers paid 43% lower than the other states per inmate at an annual cost of $16,451 compared to the national average of $28,689.
In Missouri's Greene County Sheriff's Department they have developed an inmate Work Release Program. The program which commenced in 2002 was divided into two types; a Supervised and Unsupervised work program, both types are used as a sentencing alternative by the courts. Work release permits offenders to be placed in the programs to either continue their outside employment or be placed into supervised work details, in order to serve their sentences in a controlled environment.
Unsupervised Program
This program is for the offenders who keep their outside employment. Offenders placed into this program serve their sentences while continuing to stay employed. The offenders pay back a fee of $22.50 a day to Greene County to offset the cost of housing and food while confined. The Sheriff department monitors each offender by making spot checks at places of employment, telephone calls to supervisors, random drug and alcohol testing while serving their sentences.
To qualify for a place on the program offenders must be sentenced to county jail time.
The Sheriff’s Department and the County Highway Department have also devised a programme for offenders sentenced to county jail time to serve their sentence by litter picking and several other types of landscape detailing. Offenders are picked up by the County Highway department each day and transported to and from the jail housing and job sites. The Highway department also monitors and oversees the offender’s activities while performing the tasks that beautify and maintain the integrity of the county.
