This 2011 presentation by Barbara Levine is as relevant today as it was in 2011:
Barbara Levine, Citizens Alliance on Prisons & Public Spending
Presentation to: Finding the Path to a $1.5 Billion Corrections Budget A Symposium for Policymakers and Stakeholders, March 17, 2011
When the prison population has been reduced by 7,500 and the budget is still at $2 billion, it is apparent that reducing corrections spending will involve multiple approaches. Nonetheless, while continuing to reduce the population may not, standing alone, be sufficient, it certainly is necessary. If we choose to stop here, we’ll be placing a huge constraint on how much farther we will reasonably be able to go in shrinking the corrections budget.
- We’ll risk being stuck in a morass of constantly making small cuts to try and hold the line, or
- We’ll make drastic cuts that worsen conditions inside the institutions and jeopardize the health and safety of both prisoners and staff.
Read>> Strategies for safely reducing the prisoner population