NCJ Number
146953
Journal
Corrections Compendium Volume: 17 Issue: 3 Dated: (March 1992) Pages: 1,7- 9
Date Published
1992
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes Minnesota's Sentencing to Service (STS) Program, which is a community service program designed to reduce the number of nondangerous offenders in jails.
Abstract
STS was developed jointly by the Minnesota Department of Corrections and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Besides reducing jail overcrowding, the program benefits the State by improving management of the State's natural resources. Offender work crews help maintain the millions of acres of land, water, and forests, along with thousands of miles of recreational trails managed by the State Department of Natural Resources. Offenders referred to STS from the court are put on work crews as large as 11. All projects involve needed work that would probably otherwise not be done due to lack of funds. The hours worked by offender are done in lieu of a jail sentence or fine, or they are used in combination with either or both. Crews work year-round and on weekends. STS is having an impact on the crowded jails in the State, and the labor is well received by county government, the State government, and the public. The program should be systematically evaluated, however, to determine what jail costs are saved, the percentage of offenders who complete the program, the type of offender most successful in the program, and the program's impact on the State's natural resources.