CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Montgomery County Commission has taken a step to help reduce recidivism in the community by agreeing to fund a 15-passenger transport van for Community Corrections.
According to Community Corrections Program Manager Christi Holt, the van will be used to transport offenders to and from the new Day Reporting Center, which began operations last week. Those utilizing the van will be offenders without a vehicle, support system or access to public transportation.
The Community Corrections Program allows the sentencing of eligible felony offenders to a community-based alternative to incarceration. It allows taxpayer dollars to be diverted from the high costs of incarceration and offers local courts increased sentencing options. The average cost is less than $4 a day for offender supervision, according to the website.
The basic concept of the new Day Reporting Center is to acclimate eligible offenders to the daily routine of reporting to a supervised environment where they are expected to adhere to a schedule and engage in productive activities. It serves the 19th Judicial District, covering Montgomery and Robertson counties. However, the van, funded by Montgomery County, will only be used for offenders residing within Montgomery County.
Commissioner William Frye took a moment on Monday to brief the other commissioners on what he had learned about the program since the last meeting.
“Now, my initial thoughts last week during our informal meeting was that the van was being requested for former prisoners that are on more of a strict parole type situation, so I know now that Community Corrections is an alternative to sending violators into the prison system. And due to the lower cost of supervising those in the Community Corrections Program, in my opinion, it is in the fiscal best interest of Montgomery County to fund the van. This will allow Community Corrections to continue to fulfill their purpose.”
The measure saw no further discussion and was approved unanimously by the commission.