County in southern Indiana plans to end inmate work release

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (AP) - A southern Indiana county plans to end its inmate work release program by the end of the year.

The News and Tribune reports the inmate diversion program will end after a contract between Clark County and the Indiana Department of Corrections to house the inmates in the program comes to a close.

The county's chief probation officer Jamey Hayden says that the program once was more widely used, but it has dwindled as judges seek other options in court cases. Those alternatives include allowing inmates to be released ahead of trial and home confinement.

Hayden says work release was intended to keep low-risk offenders in a job, but it can run into trouble if participants violate conditions of their release.

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Information from: News and Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind., http://www.newsandtribune.com