NCJ Number
127344
Journal
Corrections Compendium Volume: 11 Issue: 8 Dated: (February 1987) Pages: 9-10
Date Published
1987
Length
2 pages
Annotation
Incarceration rates do not necessarily correlate with violent crime rates or with the per-capita costs of corrections, according to a ranking of States prepared by Daniel O'Brien of the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
Abstract
Nevada, South Carolina, Louisiana, Delaware, and Maryland have the highest incarceration rates among the States, but not necessarily the highest violent-crime rates. Florida has the highest violent crime rate, but ranks 12th in incarceration rate. New York State, ranked second nationally in violent crime, ranks 20th in incarceration rate. Per-capita spending for adult institutions also does not correlate with incarceration rates. Although Nevada ranks first in incarceration rates, it ranks 13th in spending for adult institutions. Alaska has the highest per-capita expenditure on adult corrections institutions, but ranks sixth in incarceration rates. South Carolina and Louisiana, two Southern States with high incarceration rates, rank 15th and 22nd, respectively, an operating costs per capita. Even States with the largest number of inmates are not necessarily the biggest spenders. California, for example, which had more than 55,000 inmates in mid-1986, ranks fourth in per-capita spending for adult institutions. A chart lists the survey information by State.