A new law that will send more low-level offenders to county jails or home detention is winning praise from some corrections officials, but others worry about how the additional inmates will impact their budgets. The law prohibits judges from sentencing people convicted of resisting law enforcement, intimidation and other offenses to prison if their sentence is less than 90 days. That will increase to a year on January 1st. St. Joseph County officials are anticipating a 25 percent increase in the number of people on home detention and work release for the new fiscal year. The county will receive an extra 300-thousand dollars from the state. The extra money will pay for more staff, but some say it might not be enough.
