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For Immediate Release: April 1, 2008
Contact: LaWanda Johnson (202) 558-7974 ext. 308
Jails bulging with people with mental illnesses, the homeless and people
detained for immigration offenses; costing counties billions
Washington, D.C.-Communities are bearing the cost of a massive explosion in
the jail population which has nearly doubled in less than two decades,
according to a new report released today by the Justice Policy Institute
(JPI). The research found that jails are now warehousing more people--who
have not been found guilty of any crime--for longer periods of time than
ever before. The research shows that in part due to the rising costs of
bail, people arrested today are much more likely to serve jail time before
trial than they would have been twenty years ago, even though crime rates
are nearly at the lowest levels in thirty years.
"Crime rates are down, but you're more likely to serve time in jail today
than you would have been twenty years ago," said report co-author Amanda
Petteruti. "Jail bonds have skyrocketed, so that means if you're poor, you
do time. People are being punished before they're found guilty-justice is
undermined."
The report, Jailing Communities: The Impact of Jail Expansion and Effective
Public Safety Strategies, found jail population growth (22 percent), is
having serious consequences for communities that are now paying tens of
billions yearly to sustain jails. Jails are filled with people with drug
addictions, the homeless and people charged with immigration offenses. The
report concludes that jails have become the "new asylums," with six out of
10 people in jail living with a mental illness.
The impact of increased jail imprisonment is not borne equally by all
members of a community. New data reveal that Latinos are most likely to have
to pay bail, have the highest bail amounts, are least likely to be able to
pay and, by far, the least likely to be released prior to trial. African
Americans are nearly five times as likely to be incarcerated in jails as
whites and almost three times as likely as Latinos. Further exacerbating
jail crowding problems is the increase in the number of people being held in
jails for immigration violations-up 500 percent in the last decade.
In 2004, local governments spent a staggering $97 billion on criminal
justice, including police, the courts and jails. Over $19 billion of county
money went to financing jails alone. By way of comparison, during the same
time period, local governments spent just $8.7 billion on libraries and only
$28 billion on higher education.
"These counties just cannot afford to invest the bulk of their local public
safety budget in jails, and we are beginning to see why--the more a
community relies on jails, the less it has to invest in education,
employment and proven public safety strategies," says Nastassia Walsh,
co-author of the report.
Research shows that places that increased their jail populations did not
necessarily see a drop in violent crimes. Falling jail incarceration rates
are associated with declining violent crime rates in some of the country's
largest counties and cities, like New York City.
"The investment in building more jail beds is not making communities safer,"
says Derrick Johnson, NAACP National Board member. "Instead these
investments serve only to unfairly target communities of color and waste
taxpayer dollars."
The report recommends that communities take action to reduce their jail
populations and increase public safety by:
*
Improving release procedures for pretrial and sentenced populations.
*
Implementing pretrial release programs that release people from jail
before trial can help alleviate jail populations.
*
Reforming bail guidelines would allow a greater number of people to
post bail, leaving space open in jails for people who may pose a greater
threat to public safety.
*
Developing and implementing alternatives to incarceration.
Alternatives such as community-based corrections would permit people to be
removed from the jail, allowing them to continue to work, stay with their
families, and be part of the community, while under supervision.
*
Re-examining policies that lock up individuals for nonviolent
crimes. Reducing the number of people in jail for nonviolent offenses leaves
resources and space available for people who may need to be detained for a
public safety reason.
*
Diverting people with mental health and drug treatment needs to the
public health system and community-based treatment. People who suffer from
mental health or substance abuse problems are better served by receiving
treatment in their community. Treatment is more cost-effective than
incarceration and promotes a positive public safety agenda.
*
Diverting spending on jail construction to agencies that work on
community supervision and make community supervision effective. Reallocating
funding to probation services will allow people to be placed in appropriate
treatment or other social services and is a less costly investment in public
safety.
*
Providing more funding for front-end services such as education,
employment, and housing. Research has shown that education, employment, drug
treatment, health care, and the availability of affordable housing coincide
with lower crime rates.
