Consensus: Length of stay drives prison costs

Pew report shows Michigan far above national average

CAPPS Consensus Fall 2012

A June 2012 analysis by the Pew Center on the States showed that Michigan leads the country in the average amount of time its prisoners serve. The report, Time Served: The High Cost, Low Return of Longer Prison Terms (June 2012), examined the data available from 35 states on prisoners who were released from prison between 1990 and 2009. The authors described the national trend toward harsher sentences, exploding prison populations and crippling corrections spending. They then drilled down into the national figures to examine variations among states and identify the steps some have taken to reduce prisoner length of stay and, therefore, prison costs. CAPPS summarized the findings of the report beginning on Page 5 of the Fall 2012 Consensus.

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