Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Work release is similar to community service. In some counties, it is called SWAP, the Sheriff's Work Alternative Program. Instead of staying in jail, the inmate goes home and shows up to work on assigned activities, such as cleaning up trash along a highway. For each day of work, the defendant gets one day of jail credit.

Work furlough is a program where the defendant is released from jail in the morning to go to an outside job, but must return to the jail after work.