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(Salt Lake City-AP) -- When Salt Lake County jail inmates break things or vandalize jail property, the inmate gets the bill.
Jail officials say it has saved the government thousands of dollars and lowered the destruction.
The policy has been in effect since December 2001. All inmates are told of the policy and of their expected behavior while they're locked up.
The decrease in violations also has lowered stress levels for corrections officers.
State law authorizes jail officials to collect restitution from prisoners for damaging the facility by withdrawing money from a prisoner's in-house account. If the prisoner does not have adequate funds to pay the full amount, the jail has other ways of being reimbursed.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
