Cost of Locking Up Americans Too High

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) - One in every 31 U.S. adults is in the corrections system, which includes jail, prison, probation and supervision, more than double the rate of a quarter century ago, according to a report released on Monday by the Pew Center on the States.

The study, which said the current rate compares to one in 77 in 1982, concluded that with declining resources, more emphasis should be put on community supervision, not jail or prison.

"Violent and career criminals need to be locked up, and for a long time. But our research shows that prisons are housing too many people who can be managed safely and held accountable in the community at far lower cost," said Adam Gelb, director of the Center's Public Safety Performance Project, which produced the report.

The United States has the highest incarceration rate and the biggest prison population of any country in the world, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Most of those in the U.S. corrections system -- one in 45 -- are already on probation or parole, with one in 100 in prison or jail, the Pew study found.

Those numbers are higher in certain areas of the country, and Georgia tops all states with one in 13 adults in the justice system. The other leading states are Idaho, where one in 18 are in corrections and Texas, where the rate is one in 22. In the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., nearly 5 percent of adults are in the city's penal system.

This was the first criminal justice study that took into account those on probation and parole as well as federal convicts, Pew said.

'STATES SPENDING TOO MUCH'

The numbers are also concentrated among groups, with a little more than 9 percent of black adults in prisons or jails or on probation or parole, as opposed to some 4 percent of Hispanics and 2 percent of whites.

more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/marketsNewsUS/idUKN0240756920090302

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It is time to reform the prison system. End for-profit-prisons. Focus on rehabilitation rather than incarceration. No prison for non-violent drug offenses. End mandatory minimums. End racists incarcerations.

:think:

the same amount that is costs to keep them in jail, the majority of them wouldn't be in jail.

We used to have lots of those before the unions were broken and the jobs sent overseas

I don't know if that was all at once, or over the course of a year, but the number is staggering. Most jails need at least fifty bucks a day per prisoner. One idea would be to have the inmates pay for their incarceration by growing their food, and/or producing products for sale. I actually think most prisoners would go for this, a chance to learn a trade and be outdoors. To have prisoners kicking back, watching TV all day, or getting special treatment, like college degrees while the average Joe can't afford it is not fair. I'm all for prisoners to get degrees, but the same benefits should be extended to those who aren't in jail. Legalize weed, and let the potheads out.

How many of those incarcerated are there on drug possession, for instance, with no violence? Or related crimes - without violence? They need treatment, which can be administered outside the prison system with less cost.

Our women's prison here is creating second and third generations of troubled people - mom gets put away on drug charges, kids are raised under bad circumstances, and then find themselves in the same spot. It's not healthy - for the people involved, for their children, for their communities. It's not smart, either.

There's a reason we have the highest incarceration rate in the world - very cheap forced labor. And the taxpayers get to pay the bill!

We aren't locking up all we could now, just all we can afford to.

Here is what to do:

1) end the war on drugs now. Decriminalize all drug possession offenses.
2) release all non-violent offenders.
3) abolish mandatory sentencing.
4) prison should be limited to violent crimes - rape, murder, assault, armed robbery.