When determining Freeborn County’s jail needs, officials must take care to balance concerns about a new facility’s price and the need to have a consistent and enforceable criminal justice system.

Those who advocate increased use of electronic home monitoring for lower-level offenders say that letting work-release inmates stay at home will save the county money by reducing the amount of jail space that is needed. As it is, the county is looking at a 117-bed jail &045; out of which 50 would be for work-release offenders. Relying instead on home monitoring has the distinct advantage of saving the county money on jail construction and staffing.

But decision makers must

be careful not to cut too many corners when planning such a major project. While a higher cost is not popular, it’s important that people who break the law are both punished and encouraged to reform. The point of spending time in a locked jail cell, rather than at home, is two-fold: One, it’s a more severe punishment for a crime; and two, the offenders can be watched closely in jail. They can be kept away from alcohol and drugs, which are the largest influences on criminal behavior. Home monitoring offers ways to test offenders for drug and alcohol use, but there would certainly be more opportunity for inmates to cheat if they were not locked up and supervised.

As it is now, many offenders have to wait to serve in jail, and such delayed punishment does not help impress consequences upon criminals. A county that wants to practice effective criminal justice needs a quick and appropriate punishment available. That likely means jail time. If nothing else, the fact that both of Freeborn County’s judges oppose relying too much on home monitoring should illustrate that.