NCJ Number
127847
Journal
Wisconsin Policy Research Institute Report Volume: 3 Issue: 7 Dated: (December 1990) Pages: complete issue
Date Published
1990
Length
59 pages
Annotation
This report for policymakers, administrators, and citizens of Wisconsin who are interested in the future of the State's corrections policies concludes that imprisonment is a valuable corrections option that must continue in Wisconsin.
Abstract
Part one of the report discusses the history, philosophy, and administration of Wisconsin corrections and evaluates the recent decision to create a separate Department of Corrections. Part two describes characteristics of Wisconsin prisoners, and part three analyzes the net benefit of imprisonment in Wisconsin. The report concludes that Wisconsin has taken a balanced approach to corrections. About 54 percent of Wisconsin's nearly 7,000 prisoners are white, 38 percent black, 6 percent Hispanic, and 2 percent American Indian. Excluding lifers, the average sentence length is 10.5 years, but the average length of actual confinement is under 2 years. Wisconsin prisoners commit an average of 1,834 crimes per year including drug sales; they commit an average of 141 crimes per year excluding drug sales. It costs about twice as much to keep Wisconsin criminals on the street without supervision as it does to imprison them. Over the next decade, Wisconsin will need thousands of new prison beds, and the benefits of providing these beds will almost certainly exceed the costs of providing them. Forms used to survey Wisconsin inmates are included. 3 tables