SAN ANTONIO — A new program in Bexar County will keep low-level offenders out of jail and save taxpayers money, according to a release from the Bexar County Sheriff's Office.
Sheriff Javier Salazar and two district court judges, 226th District Court Judge Velia Meza and County Court 15 judge Melissa Vara, have partnered up for 'Bexar Gives Back,' a jail diversion program.
The program will divert low-level offenders from jail, by giving courts an option to sentence the offender to 'Bexar Gives Back.'
According to Sheriff Salazar and the BCSO, the goal of the program is to "save taxpayer expense, by allowing low-level offenders to provide a service to our community in return to serve as a ‘payment’ for the offense they committed."
Taxpayers will save money that would have normally been used to house, feed, and provide other services to the offenders while incarcerated at the Bexar County Adult Detention Center.
The diversion program will also aid in decreasing the local jail population.
