Inmate transfer to Charleston a financial choice

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Shopping local often takes a back seat to a better price and better service -- even when it comes to shopping for a jail.

Sikeston Department of Public Safety director Drew Juden explained during Monday's city council meeting that boarding jail inmates facing city charges in the Mississippi County Detention Center was primarily a financial decision, being "$2 a day cheaper."

Under the terms of a contract negotiated in February and effective April 1, Mississippi County charges the Sikeston department $40 per day for each prisoner held on a city charge. On a stay of less than five hours, the city is not charged.

Suspects held on state charges must be held by the county without billing the arresting agency, although the jail will be reimbursed by the Missouri Department of Corrections if the inmate is convicted.