Yesterday, a big decision was made in the city of Gilbert that will change the way DUI offenders are handled in the community. Aligning with other areas in Maricopa County (Phoenix, Mesa and Chandler), Gilbert is moving forward with introducing a home-detention plan for DUI offenders in order to save money spent on keeping offenders in jail.

According to research, it currently costs an estimated $75 to keep one person in a county jail for one day. During Thursday's meeting about the home-detention program, supporters of the controversial program claimed that if the plan had been enacted last year, then the town would have saved more than $700,000.

What is the home-detention program? The plan would decrease the number of days DUI offenders are sentenced to spend in jail. Instead of remaining locked up in a jail cell, offenders would be allowed to go home and be set up with GPS and alcohol monitors on their bodies. The devices would alert authorities when offenders violate the terms of their quasi releases.

Opponents of the home-detention program for DUI crimes think that the plan makes life easier for offenders by letting them out of jail. A Gilbert judge, however, insists that when offenders in the home-detention program break the rules by venturing outside of Maricopa County or using drugs or alcohol, they will be punished with jail time.

In order to ensure that enacting the home-detention plan in Gilbert is effective in more regards than just financially, a local prosecuting attorney who is passionate about keeping the roads safe from drunk driving has requested that the results of the program be evaluated six months after its start. Her request is yet to be answered.

Resource
azcentral.com: Gilbert approves home-detention program for DUI offenders (9/24/2010)