(WKBN) – The Department of Justice issued a final ruling Tuesday allowing prisoners who were put on home confinement because of the pandemic to finish out their sentences there at the discretion of the director of the Bureau of Prisons.

The rule gives flexibility to the Bureau of Prisons to bring those prisoners back to jail if they commit infractions. They can also be moved into residential reentry centers.

“This final rule makes clear that the Director of the Bureau of Prisons has the discretion to ensure that those who have made rehabilitative progress and complied with the conditions of home confinement are not unnecessarily returned to prison,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland.

The director of the Bureau of Prisons said Tuesday that any individual placed on home confinement under the CARES Act can stay there for the remainder of their sentence, provided that they are compliant with the rules and regulations of community placement.

Since the enactment of the CARES Act on March 26, 2020, the Bureau of Prisons has placed more than 12,000 individuals in home confinement under CARES Act authority. Of those, only a fraction of one percent has been returned to secure custody due to new criminal conduct.