Teen Prefers Jail To Home Detention

Authorities in New Zealand have been locking up some criminals in their homes rather than jail. A local newspaper reports one young man, after serving 10 months of his 11 month sentence, called the police to say he's "sick of playing Xbox games." And if they didn't pick him up, he would violate his detention.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And today's Last Word In Business is home detention. The story comes to us from New Zealand, where authorities have been locking up some criminals in their homes rather than jail. House arrest is a lot cheaper, but turns out that serving time at home is not as comfortable as you might think.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

A local newspaper reports that one young man, after serving 10 months of his 11-month sentence, called the police to say he's sick of playing Xbox games. He said if they didn't pick him up, he would violate his detention.

INSKEEP: The 19-year-old got his wish; he's now in prison. Maybe there's a wider selection of video games there. And that's the business news on MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

GREENE: And I'm David Greene.

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