NCJ Number
245662
Date Published
2013
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This report describes the continuing trend for States to close or consider closing prisons.
Abstract
This report describes continuing trend among States to close or to consider closing prison facilities. Topics discussed in this report include: opportunity for closures; reforms in State sentencing practices in 2013; States closing or considering closing correctional facilities in 2013; shifting dynamics on prison closures; repurposing prisons; openings and expansion; and rethinking the use of incarceration. The prison reduction trend is partly due to legislative and administrative reform, including the scaling back of mandatory sentencing laws, increasing parole release rates, and authorizing earned release from community supervision. Since 2011, approximately 17 States reduced their prison capacity by a total of about 35,000 beds. Appendix and endnotes