Correctional FacilitySLAP/SWAP

The Sussex County Sheriff’s Office offers two programs to certain non-violent offenders sentenced to a term of imprisonment. Both programs have been highly successful and are explained in the next sections.

Sheriff’s Work Assistance Program (SWAP)

SWAP is available to sentenced inmates who are a minimum security risk. Under the supervision of sheriff’s officers, these inmates work outside of the correctional facility during the day, performing a wide range of manual labor for local nonprofit organizations and government agencies throughout Sussex County.

Sheriff’s Labor Assistance Program (SLAP)

SLAP provides a safe alternative to incarceration for individuals sentenced for non-violent offenses. It was developed to help ease overcrowding of the correctional facility on weekends. In lieu of serving time in jail, SLAP program participants do work similar to that of SWAP participants on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

In 2010, the sentencing of offenders to SLAP diverted 285 additional inmates from spending a combined total of 5,295 days in the correctional facility. Based upon a cost of $110 per day to house an inmate, this translates into a savings of $582,450 for the county in 2010. But wait, there’s more…mandatory processing fees paid by SLAP participants generated $36,122 in revenue in 2010. Add to that the 11,909 hours of free labor supplied to the recipient organizations and it’s clear that the beneficiaries of SLAP are not only the participants and organizations but the taxpayers as well.

Are you a nonprofit organization or government agency within Sussex County interested in utilizing SLAP? For further information, contact Lt. Mark Lospinuso at 973.579.0865, ext. 2330.

Sussex County
Sheriff’s Office
39 High Street
Newton, NJ 07860
TEL: 973.579.0850
FAX: 973.579.7884