Idaho Lawmakers Looking to Cut Number of Prisoners

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A committee of lawmakers charged with finding ways to reduce the Idaho's growing prison population is pushing for changes in probation and parole.

The Interim Committee on Justice Reinvestment was created last June, and members have spent the last several months examining data gathered by the Council of State Governments Justice Center. One of the findings was that many of Idaho's inmates are in prison because they violated their probation or parole. The new proposals focus on ways to help people on probation and parole finish their terms successfully.

One option gives probation officers the authority to impose immediate sanctions for violations — like a weekend in jail — instead of forcing probationers to wait months for a hearing that could result in a long prison term.