Ottawa ? The number of criminal offenders who serve their time on the weekends, a program that allows the inmates to work regular jobs during the week, is on the rise is Franklin County.

“One of the things we like to avoid is anything that would cause a person to lose that job if he already has one,” said attorney Forrest Lowry, who at times has clients ordered to the weekend commitments. “I think the courts over the years have been very sensitive to that.”

Last weekend, there were nine inmates at the county jail serving a two-day weekend sentence, and eight the week before.

Most people ordered by the court to serve the two-day commitments have been convicted of driving under the influence or have committed probation violations.

Most offenders serve between five and 10 weekends.

The weekend commitments allow people convicted of a crime to maintain employment, which has benefits beyond helping offenders pay court-ordered restitution and costs, proponents say.

“If they lose their jobs, they may be more susceptible to commit crimes,” Sheriff Craig Davis said.

The program, however, comes with a price tag. It sometimes means bringing in additional staff beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, the time when the weekend-only inmates arrive at the jail. It also means lost revenue from housing prisoners from other counties. The jail receives $40 per day for each out-of-county inmate, which brought in about $160,000 in revenue last year.

Despite the cost, Lowry said the court often granted requests by many of his clients who ask for weekend jail commitments.

“The courts, as space is available, have been very generous for the most part allowing us to do it,” Lowry said.