The 1970’s brought with it ‘tough-on-crime’ policies, which created a shift in the judicial system from the previous model of predominantly crime control to a punitive model that increased incarceration rates and sentences. This new model and policies created an overall overcrowding in the local jails, state and federal prison system, costing states and local government millions of dollars. This journal specifically looks at incarceration systems in the state of Texas and the costs associated with overcrowded facilities. Texas offers a unique perspective as the entire state was the first to look at alternative methods of punishment than that of imprisonment. The authors both have the credentials to perform the study and no obvious bias is apparent.
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The need for prison reform is presented in association with the high costs. The authors also discuss the consequences of mass incarcerations in addition to the financial costs, such as, high recidivism rates, and the disenfranchisement that released prisoners face when reentering the community. Strategies to reduce the prison population without increasing the risk of crime were also discusses, including decriminalizing ‘victimless’ crimes and reducing the length of sentences. The purpose of the current study was to estimate the cost savings of reducing prison population through three strategic options pulled from the literature review to decrease costs while preserving public safety, including: eliminating prison terms for parole or probation technical violators, reducing sentence lengths and decriminalizing ‘victimless’ crimes. The researcher’s goal was to show cost savings if correctional facilities implement said …show more content…
An estimate of the cost per day, per inmate multiplied by the number of days each inmate had left on their sentence was utilized to show the expected savings amount. The authors also showed the anticipated decrease in the rate of incarceration but do not go into detail as to how they came to this conclusion. The results found support the author’s objective; that by implementing the specific three strategies the incarceration rate and the cost of incarceration would both decrease. The authors also took into consideration the cost of alternatives to incarceration and early release of inmates, such as parole and supervised
The need for prison reform is presented in association with the high costs. The authors also discuss the consequences of mass incarcerations in addition to the financial costs, such as, high recidivism rates, and the disenfranchisement that released prisoners face when reentering the community. Strategies to reduce the prison population without increasing the risk of crime were also discusses, including decriminalizing ‘victimless’ crimes and reducing the length of sentences. The purpose of the current study was to estimate the cost savings of reducing prison population through three strategic options pulled from the literature review to decrease costs while preserving public safety, including: eliminating prison terms for parole or probation technical violators, reducing sentence lengths and decriminalizing ‘victimless’ crimes. The researcher’s goal was to show cost savings if correctional facilities implement said …show more content…
An estimate of the cost per day, per inmate multiplied by the number of days each inmate had left on their sentence was utilized to show the expected savings amount. The authors also showed the anticipated decrease in the rate of incarceration but do not go into detail as to how they came to this conclusion. The results found support the author’s objective; that by implementing the specific three strategies the incarceration rate and the cost of incarceration would both decrease. The authors also took into consideration the cost of alternatives to incarceration and early release of inmates, such as parole and supervised