HANNIBAL, MO. -- It costs the city of Hannibal $37.50 a day to house an inmate at the Marion County Jail.
Earlier this year, Police Chief Lyndell Davis proposed a plan to have those convicted in Municipal Court to work off their fine or jail time by helping clean up the city.
When he proposed the idea, he told the city he would give a 30 day, 60 day, and a 90 day review of the project.
Tuesday night, Chief Davis gave the city council a 30 day review.
He says so far, the program is showing lots of success.
He showed this slide show to the council of before and after pictures of some of the projects that have been done.
He says overall, it saves the city money and it cleans up the town.
But he's found an unexpected benefit.
"They are taking ownership in their community, maybe for the first time in their life. They're recognizing that it looks so much better when it's cleaned up and the trash has been removed," says Davis.
Chief Davis also tells KHQA he's had some of the people in the program ask if they can use the police department as a reference when they look for a job.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKHQA