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Palm Beach County leaders seek to reduce jail population

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Palm Beach County has a plan to reduce how much of your money goes to the jail system.

The county wants to reduce the inmate population by 16 percent during the next two years.

County commissioners have voted to approve and accept a multimillion dollar grant.

That money will help identify low-risk inmates who can be released until their trial date.

“Mostly we're speaking about misdemeanors which are disorderly intoxication, drunk driving, petit theft those types of crimes that people get into temporary trouble and they aren't career criminal type of people we want to interrupt that journey into criminal behavior early on so that we put these people on the right path and not help them down the wrong path,” said Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Colbath.  

All who qualify will be interviewed and have a background check. Those who are determined to be at high-risk will stay in jail.