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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 2:49 am
Time: 2:49 am
Results for inmates (philadelphia)
1 results foundAuthor: Shubik-Richards, Claire Title: Philadelphia's Crowded, Costly Jails: The Search for Safe Solutions Summary: Today, the government of the city of Philadelphia spends seven cents out of every tax dollar on holding people in its jails. That is more than it spends on any other function besides police and human services—and as much as it spends on the streets and health departments combined. Its spending on jails is nearly as high as that of Cook County, Illinois, even though Cook County, which includes the city of Chicago, has more than three times as many residents as Philadelphia. Over the last 10 years, the departmental budget has more than doubled, reaching $240 million in the current fiscal year. That figure, however, understates the true cost of prison operations, as it does not include employee benefits. With benefits, the number is about $290 million. This increase in spending has been driven by a rising number of inmates. As of mid-2008, the most recent date for which comparative numbers are available, Philadelphia had the fourth-highest jail population on a per capita basis among the cities and counties with the nation’s 50 largest jail populations. From 1999 through 2008, the Philadelphia Prison System saw its average daily inmate count climb by 45 percent, peaking at 9,787 for the month of January 2009. This was one of the largest such increases in the country, and it came at a time when jail populations in the nation’s two largest jurisdictions, New York City and Los Angeles County, were declining. Since mid-2009, however, the population in the prison system has fallen steadily; the average daily population stood at 8,464 for March 2010, down 13 percent from the peak. These developments in the inmate population—both the long-term rise and short-term fall—generally have not tracked the crime rate; for most of the past decade, as the inmate population numbers were rising, the arrest numbers often were declining. Rather, the shifts in the population are related primarily to changes in procedures, legislation and policies involving the police, the courts and the various elements of the criminal justice system. To a large extent, the evidence in this report indicates that the size of the population of the Philadelphia Prison System is within the power of policy makers to control—without compromising the fight against crime. It suggests that Philadelphia can have fewer people in jail, save money and be no less safe. (Excerpts from the report) Details: Philadelphia: Pew Charitable Trusts, 2010. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 22, 2010 at: http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Philadelphia_Research_Initiative/Philadelphias_Crowded_Costly_Jails_rev.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Philadelphia_Research_Initiative/Philadelphias_Crowded_Costly_Jails_rev.pdf Shelf Number: 119651 Keywords: Alternatives to IncarcerationInmates (Philadelphia)Jails (Philadelphia) |