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Prison overcrowding is a devastating – and worsening – problem for most prisons across America. One Missouri Sheriff is considering taking matters into his own hands to help fight the overcrowding that is occurring in his own jail.

J.B. King, Pulaski, Missouri Sheriff is considering allowing non-violent offenders to be tracked by GPS tracking systems instead of being housed behind bars. These non-violent offenders could include drug offenders or those convicted petty misdemeanors.

Some Missouri counties, such as Greene and Christian counties, have already started using ankle bracelets with GPS tracking systems. These systems save money, as the counties no longer have to pay to house non-violent offenders who use the ankle bracelets.

In some jurisdictions in which the ankle bracelet GPS system is used, there is a waiting list to be in the ankle bracelet program. Commonly used as a way of monitoring individuals who are on bail, bond, or probation, GPS tracking for non-violent criminals could spread more pervasively through the criminal justice system.

Sheriff King is testing the device on one inmate. While he is skeptical of the idea, he is open to utilizing the concept of GPS systems in order to save money. Such a program could save up to $10,000 per inmate.

“I come from school of thought that we need to lock them up and keep them there, so the idea that I’m looking at a system to get them out just bothers me but, again, we look at bills coming in and we’ve spent $3,270,000 in housing inmates in other counties over the last nine years,” King told Springfield, Missouri news channel KY3.

Article Written by Greg Minton