Research/Document Library
For Immediate Release: How to Safely Reduce Prison Populations and Support People Returning to Their Communities
The current economic situation is causing many states to face difficult budget choices. Policymakers across the country are realizing that the expense of incarcerating so many people—states spent $52 billion on corrections in FY2008—is reducing resources available for investments in social structures, like education and healthcare. As a result, many states are developing new and innovative ways to trim their prison populations, reduce the likelihood that a released person will commit a new offense and lower revocation rates so fewer people return to prison once released. This brief provides information to help policymakers make smart decisions around prison reductions that will result in stronger and safer communities."
- Available online
- http://www.justicepolicy.org/
- Justice Policy Institute
- Date
- June 2010