(AP) – Joplin City Council members say they rejected a request
to house Springfield municipal inmates in the local jail because of strong
opposition from residents.
The Joplin Globe reports Springfield’s mayor and police chief assured Joplin
leaders at a meeting last week that the inmates would not be dangerous. But
council members said their constituents were worried that inmates who couldn’t
get a ride back to Springfield would just stick around.
Springfield has had an inmate crisis since Greene County stopped accepting
prisoners held on municipal charges more than a year ago.
The city’s proposal would have paid Joplin $50 per inmate, per day.
Springfield’s police chief has said his department has neither the authority
nor responsibility to give the inmates a ride once they’re out of jail.
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