The Wisconsin Criminal Justice Coalition, led by the Badger Institute, offers policy ideas for combating recidivism, fostering opportunity, saving taxpayer money and maintaining public safety.
Wisconsin currently incarcerates more than 23,000 individuals in its state prison system and supervises over 65,000 in some form of community supervision. The state has seen its prison population steadily increase since the turn of the century, even though crime rates have decreased since 2000. Every day of imprisonment costs the state $89 for males and $106 for females.
The Department of Corrections’ budget called for $1.08 billion in taxpayer spending in 2016, seven times more than 25 years ago. This sum is only expected to increase as the state’s prison population continues to grow and age at a time when corrections costs are rising rapidly. Wisconsin can decrease taxpayer expenditures and increase public safety concurrently by adopting the simple recommendations contained within this document.
