State Senator Ed Meyer: A New Lookat our Prisons

As the budget woes of our state government continue, we must be creative in making state spending cuts above and beyond the $3 billion in cuts that we have already made. I am proposing to the governor and legislative leaders that we take a new direction in our criminal justice system that will have

immense cost savings.

Twenty-five years ago, Connecticut had about 8,000 prison inmates. But today, with virtually the same state population, we have about 19,000 prison inmates. That dramatic increase results largely from our imprisonment of a variety of non-violent offenders for crimes such as drug possession (not trafficking), probation violation, and conduct associated with mental health disease. These types of prison inmates cost us about $40,000 per year per inmate, but a prison term does virtually nothing to change their lives. The result is a 60 percent recidivism rate.

Non-violent offenders who do not endanger our society should be subject to non-incarceration rehabilitation. The cost of those services is far less than the $40,000 cost per year of imprisonment and would make our society safer by the beneficial effects of rehabilitation. Incarceration makes little difference to an inmate with mental health disease or to a habitual drug user and yet it carries an enormous budget cost. It is estimated that approximately one half of our 19,000 inmates are non-violent offenders. A new direction for them will save millions of dollars as well as make our society safer.

Wise economists are telling us not to waste a financial crisis. The current crisis can be used for constructive reform of the criminal justice system.