A recent study by the Vera Institute of Justice and the Pew Center on the States’ Public Safety Performance Project examined changes in population count and spending for both prisons and community corrections programs from 2006 to 2010, and data indicates a shift is occurring from housing prisoners to moving them to community corrections. To conduct the study, Vera’s Center on Sentencing and Corrections surveyed state corrections agencies, reviewed recent sentencing and corrections legislation, and conducted interviews with criminal justice officials.
From 2006 to 2010, two-thirds of participating states reported increases in the number of prisoners they supervised, and 83 percent reported an increase in prison spending. However, from 2009 and 2010 states reported a reverse trend, with 50 percent of states saying they had fewer prisoners and two-thirds saying their costs dropped.
On the other hand, from 2006 to 2010, nearly half of states saw increases in the use of community corrections programs, and 75 percent of those states in the report indicated spending on community corrections increased. The study indicates that continued growth of community corrections programs is important in the criminal justice system.
“The next several years are critical for criminal justice systems in this country. Increasingly, states are embarking on efforts that aim to reduce their prison populations and expenditures, strengthen their community corrections systems, and improve public safety.”
The report highlights states such as Michigan, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Wisconsin and Virginia as example of states proactively expanding community corrections programs to better manage offenders, reduce prison crowding and lower overall costs. BI Incorporated works with several of these and other states to implement community corrections programs that are research-driven and developed to curb recidivism.