Inmates may reduce their sentences by taking classes

The Ventura County Sheriff's Department is implementing a new program in which jail inmates may be eligible to receive credits for school, vocational training and substance abuse courses. These jail credits will be used to reduce their court sentences.

The ever-increasing local jail population prompted the sheriff's department to seek alternatives to incarceration. The school credits program, which was initiated in a northern California county, was modified and adapted to the educational programs offered in the Ventura County Jail system.

The purpose of the program is to create an incentive for inmates to take responsibility for their own self-improvement and to provide an additional population management tool for sheriff's officials.

About 17 percent of the inmate population is involved in some educational, vocational or life skills course in the Ventura County Jails. However, not every inmate will have the opportunity to earn the sentencereducing credits. Only those sentenced by the courts to 45 days or more are eligible to participate.

The availability of classroom space, certified instructors, sheriff's staffing and the many different classifications of inmates will also impact the accessibility to the course offerings.

Successful completion of a GED certificate would allow inmates to subtract up to five days from their total sentence. Another five days could be earned through the successful completion of vocational and/or substance abuse courses.

The Ventura County Probation Agency, which manages the work release and work furlough programs, has agreed to accept the credits and the modified release dates for inmates who later transfer to one of their programs from the jail system. Inmates in the Probation Agency programs may also be eligible for earning credits.