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This Just In...
Kevin Fischer is an award-winning veteran broadcaster who has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for nearly three decades.
Kevin, who is a legislative aide to state Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, “INTERchange,” on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, in Franklin.
Corrections vs. education
By Kevin Fischer
Thursday, Feb 28 2008, 08:49 PM
A brand new study was issued today on prisons in America that I assure you will have liberals in a tizzy. From a news release by the Pew Center on the States’ Public Safety Performance Project:
“For the first time in history more than one in every 100 adults in America are in jail or prison—a fact that significantly impacts state budgets without delivering a clear return on public safety. According to a new report released today by the Pew Center on the States’ Public Safety Performance Project, at the start of 2008, 2,319,258 adults were held in American prisons or jails, or one in every 99.1 men and women, according to the study. During 2007, the prison population rose by more than 25,000 inmates. In addition to detailing state and regional prison growth rates, Pew’s report, One in 100: Behind Bars in America 2008, identifies how corrections spending compares to other state investments, why it has increased, and what some states are doing to limit growth in both prison populations and costs while maintaining public safety.
As prison populations expand, costs to states are on the rise. Last year alone, states spent more than $49 billion on corrections, up from $11 billion 20 years before. However, the national recidivism rate remains virtually unchanged, with about half of released inmates returning to jail or prison within three years. And while violent criminals and other serious offenders account for some of the growth, many inmates are low-level offenders or people who have violated the terms of their probation or parole.”
The reaction from the left is predictable:
We are spending too much on corrections.
Violent crime is still a problem. We have too many non-violent offenders locked up. It’s all putting a great strain on state budgets.
We need to spend less on correction. We need to lock up fewer criminals.
We need to spend the money we’re spending on corrections on education.
As I talked about on WISN today, lefties always try to frame the argument as corrections vs. education that I feel is a flawed argument.
But let’s play the game.
Using data from this very same report:
At the end of 2006, Wisconsin had 23,431 inmates.
One year later, at the end of 2007, Wisconsin had 22,690 inmates. That’s a decrease of 741 inmates, or a 3.2% decline. Wisconsin is bucking the national trend of locking up more bad guys.
Yes, corrections is expensive.
What’s the price tag in Wisconsin?
In fiscal year 2007, according to this report, Wisconsin spent $890 million, or 6.7% of the state’s General Fund.
How does that compare to education spending in Wisconsin?
In fiscal year 2007, Wisconsin spent $1.214 billion on education.
Education is always half of the massive state budget, spending that is above the national average. Education doesn’t get shortchanged in Wisconsin.
As for the high cost of incarceration, it would be costlier to let inmates out earlier and lock up fewer criminals.
Senator Mary Lazich makes the case: we can’t afford to not lock them up.
CFSW HAS WORKED HARD TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY- NOW IT'S TIME TO SAY THANK YOU !
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