![](\"http:\/\/i2.ytimg.com\/vi\/iv3dtLCoKvs\/default.jpg\")
<\/a>\nTuesday the Lowndes County Commission approved ankle bracelet monitoring\nfor nonviolent jail inmates so they can serve the rest of their time\noutside the jail, putting them in a better environment and\ndecreasing expenses at the Sheriff’s office.\nThis sounds like a good idea.\nI have not expressed an opinion because,\n\nas Barbara Stratton pointed out<\/a>,\nthe public doesn’t really know what was in the proposal County Commissioners\ngot in their agenda packet.\nHowever, I would like to compliment Commissioner Joyce Evans about trying to do\nsomething about nonviolent prisoners.\n\nSummarizing the\n\nankle monitoring discussion of Monday morning<\/a>,\nCounty Manager Joe Pritchard Tuesday evening asked the Lowndes County Commission\nto approve continued work by county staff with the Sheriff’s office in implementing\nan ankle monitoring system to move some inmates out of the county jail.\n \nCommissioner Richard Raines gave the credit to Commissioner\nJoyce Evans for both proposing a drug court and for\nproposing ankle monitoring.\n \nCommissioner Evans declined comment but did make the motion,\nseconded by Commissioner Powell, and approved unanimously.\n \nThe VDT had a little more information\nin David Rodock’s Wednesday story:<\/a>\n\n\n \nThe request was unanimously approved, but the number of monitors was\nnot specified at the meeting.\n<\/blockquote>\nWe know from Monday’s discussion that $7\/day is much less than it costs\nto keep a prisoner in jail, so it would appear that the program will break even\nat some number of prisoners in the program that’s hard to calculate without more\ninformation.\nPlus perhaps more important considerations such as where are the prisoners\nexpected to go?\nAre we talking house arrest, or stay in the general area and report in frequently, or…?\n \nHow hard would it be for the Commission to put information like that\non their own website for the public to see?\nStill, once again compliments to Joyce Evans for trying to do something.\nWe’ll see how it works.\n \nHere’s\n\nthe video:<\/a>\n \n\nCommissioners were offered three options for the number of total\nankle monitors, each of which would also include hiring an employee\nto administer the program, a county vehicle, smartphone and office\nsupplies. Monitors are quoted at $7 a day and total administrative costs\nare estimated at $45,000.\n