Research/Document Library
Pruning Prisons: How Cutting Corrections Can Save Money and Protect Public Safety
As the United States grapples with harsh economic realities, states and localities continue to cut budgets, shed jobs, and trim institutions that are not cost-effective. Among the least cost-effective are prison and jail systems. Federal, state and local governments are spending a combined $68 billion dollars a year on a system that does not definitively improve public safety, but, instead, destabilizes communities, harms families, and derails the lives of individuals. Research has shown that over the last 10 years, states that have increased their prison populations have not seen concurrent decreases in violent crime. At the same time, the states that have reduced their incarceration rates have seen some of the largest drops in violent crime.
- Available online
- http://www.justicepolicy.org/
- Justice Policy Institute
- Date
- 5/19/09
- Full Title
- Pruning Prisons: How Cutting Corrections Can Save Money and Protect Public Safety
- Publisher
- Justice Policy Institute