NCJ Number
160893
Journal
Justice Report Dated: (Winter 1996) Pages: 1-3
Date Published
1996
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article examines the cost implications of building more prisons to house a growing population of nonviolent offenders sentenced under a "get tough" policy and considers an alternative policy of community-based programs that hold offenders accountable for their crimes.
Abstract
Nationwide, the prisons are filling up faster than ever. The Justice Department reported that the Nation's Federal and State prison population is at an all-time high. The Bureau of Justice Statistics counted 1.5 million people in State and Federal prisons in June 1995, up from 1.4 million in 1994. It costs, on average, $23,000 a year to keep an offender locked up, money that prison reform advocates say could be better used. Although prisons are right for dangerous, violent offenders, the advocates of change contend that an estimated quarter of those serving sentences could be held accountable for their crimes in some kind of structured, supervised program outside prison. Given the costs of pursuing the current policy of imprisoning nonviolent offenders, such as drug users, many State legislators are looking for an effective, less costly alternative. There is growing support for managing nonviolent offenders in community corrections programs that may include electronic monitoring, intensive supervision, restitution, drug treatment, and mandatory participation in various rehabilitative programs.