Managing the Costs of Corrections

• NCJ Number: 86247
• Journal: Prison Journal Volume: 62 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring/Summer 1982) Pages: 3-63
• Author(s): T R Clear; P M Harris; A L Record
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 61 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The lack of any central administrative source to control corrections costs makes effective fiscal management nearly impossible. Good management must weigh costs vs. benefits, taking into account the difficulties of predicting human behavior and disregarding political expediency.

Abstract

To appropriate fixed resources rationally, managers must consider the high demand for and costs of correctional services. Analysis of prison population trends suggests that the most cost-effective and productive management strategy is to deemphasize incarceration as the primary response to demands for punishment. Such demands may be temporary; even widespread growth in incarceration does not achieve sufficient crime control to justify its expense. Decisionmakers can control costs through emergency measures, such as early release, parole, and supervised custody, or through a mix of strategies involving both population control and emergency exit programs. They need to give the public more accurate information on the potential and costs of punishment and, in return, gather more information on the problems of cost management and public perceptions of the corrections system. Legislative and executive responsibility, critical to the resolution of management problems, includes maintaining a unified corrections system, while developing a more flexible response to crime. Reference notes are appended.