London
Britain said this week it would offer assistance worth up to $5,000 to any foreign prisoner who agreed to leave the country. The perk would apply mainly to those in prison awaiting deportation hearings, but foreigners serving time for serious crimes would also be offered incentives to serve out their sentences in their home countries. The Home Office said the new program is intended to relieve prison overcrowding and save money. Keeping a single person in a British jail costs nearly $70,000 a year. Britain currently has 79,819 prisoners, and has cells for only 234 more in the entire country.
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