For some defendants who find themselves sentenced to jail time, anything is better than sitting behind bars.

As one component of alternatives to sentencing, the Marysville Police Department operates an Electronic Home Monitoring (EHM) program that provides an alternative to incarceration for low risk, non-violent offenders with little or no prior criminal history, allowing offenders to live at home while serving their sentences.

Benefits to taxpayers
Home detention provides benefits to taxpayers by keeping offenders out of the jail system, holding down jail costs by saving the City booking and daily housing fees, and keeping the jail less crowded. It costs the City $60 a day to keep someone in the Marysville’s 57-bed jail; it costs $15 a day for EHM, paid by the offender.

Benefits to detainees
For detainees, the program enables them to keep their family together, continue at their jobs or school, deal with medical issues, get court-ordered treatment or make court-ordered appearances while serving their sentence, and pay for detention out of their own pockets rather than using taxpayer dollars.