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Prisons drain scarce resources
With critical state services facing
drastic cuts, too much money is spent on prisons
that could fund programs for children and the
elderly, support higher education and cultural
institutions, protect the environment, and pay fire
fighters and police.
· For 2008, the proposed MDOC
budget exceeds $2 billion, even with a projected
reduction in the prisoner population. Every day,
taxpayers spend more than $4.7 million to operate
dozens of prisons and camps. The average annual cost
per prisoner is more than $32,000.
· The MDOC’s share of General
Fund spending was five percent in 1983; now it is
more than 20 percent.
· Despite the need for a
well-educated work force to revitalize its economy,
Michigan pays as much for prisons as it does for
colleges and universities.
· Far too often, we
incarcerate people with mental illness or substance
abuse problems instead of treating them.
"We need to reserve prison space for
criminals we’re afraid of and use more conducive and
less costly alternatives to rehabilitate offenders
we are simply mad at."
Robert Brown, Jr., Director, Michigan Dept. of
Corrections, 1984-1992 |
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