The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

“We can control growth,” he said. “We won’t stop it but we can manage it more intelligently.”Werholz was one of four participants in a panel discussion on skyrocketing prison costs.

Working with CSG’s Justice Center and the Pew Center, Kansas developed the data used to convince a bipartisan coalition that reforms were needed.

Werholz said research shows that intervention and treatment had to focus on the most dangerous prisoners, those at a higher risk of returning. In the past, he said, intervention efforts focused on low-risk prisoners.

“Those at low risk will likely succeed without intervention,” he said.

Other changes involved more local and county involvement in providing treatment facilities and a shift in how prisoners are treated. Instead of the cookie-cutter approach previously used, released prisoners are given more individual intervention based on their needs such as housing, mental illness and health issues.

The result, said Werholtz, is that the rate of recidivism in Kansas has been cut in half in the past three years. It also reduced by $80 million the capital expenditures the state will need for new prisons.

The Kansas experience, and a similar success story in Nebraska, outlined by Brashear, demonstrates some of the work the Public Performance Project, working with partners such as CSG’s Justice Center, is doing nationwide.

Gelb described how the Public Safety Performance Project wants to help states search for better results from the sentencing and correction systems.

Using data-driven, evidence-based research, the project is working with Kansas, Nebraska and nine other states to find the policy choices that will increase public safety and deliver a better return on investment of corrections dollars.

Thompson urged the reporters and editors to ask policymakers in their states these questions:

* Why is their prison population is growing?
* What services do prisoners get?
* Why are prisoners going back to prison?

He said it is unlikely that many state officials know the answers, which is why data collection is the first step needed to take in efforts to control prison costs.

http://capitalcomments.typepad.com/capital_comments/2007/08/states-use-data.html