NCJ Number
152730
Date Published
1994
Length
16 pages
Annotation
Incarcerating elderly offenders costs more than incarcerating younger offenders, and the costs and needs of an increased number of elderly inmates resulting from California's Three Strikes law pose special problems for the criminal justice system.
Abstract
California's Three Strikes law, passed in March 1994, mandates that felons convicted of a third offense be sentenced to an indeterminate life term, from a minimum of 25 years to life. Consequently, the elderly inmate population in California will increase. The cost of incarcerating younger inmates averages $21,000 yearly, while the cost of incarcerating older inmates is about $60,000 per year. The number of prison inmates over 50 years of age in California is projected to increase by over 300 percent during the next 5 years. Meanwhile, evidence indicates that long-term incarceration may have little effect on reducing crime and violence. Direct and indirect costs of housing elderly prisoners are examined, particularly health service costs. Costs associated with recidivism among elderly offenders are also addressed. The author concludes that "crime savings" predictions associated with California's Three Strikes law are questionable, and he proposes short-term and long-term policies to improve the criminal justice system. 43 references, 2 tables, and 1 figure