NCJ Number
230656
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 72 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2010 Pages: 32-34
Date Published
February 2010
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the problem of reducing correctional system costs.
Abstract
This article begins with a discussion of the fundamental reason for increased correctional system costs. The author notes that the primary driver of correctional costs is the number of people incarcerated in jails or prisons and the number of people in the community under pretrial, probation, or parole supervision. Since 1980, the incarceration rate in the United States has increased from 110 inmates per 100,000 people in the population to 762 inmates per 100,000 people in the population, a rate considerably higher than the world incarceration rate of 145 inmates per 100,000 people in the population. At the same time, crime rates in the United States have fallen to their lowest levels since the 1960s. Bringing the correctional population in line with the crimes would be a solution to reducing correctional costs. This article examines what the effects would be of reducing the correctional population by half and discusses the work of the Norval Morris Project and one of its key working groups, the Keystone Group. One of the primary questions being examined by the Keystone Group is "How can we safely and systematically reduce the correctional population by half in eight years?" The article discusses the work of the Keystone Group to date and provides suggestions for ways to address the problem of increased correctional costs. 12 endnotes