NCJ Number
133429
Date Published
Unknown
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This response to a recent article by John Dilulio takes issue with the author's conclusion that it costs twice as much to keep an offender on the streets, without supervision, than it does to incarcerate him. This response challenges the crime and cost figures used in the original article as well as the failure to address the real sentencing options facing Wisconsin.
Abstract
Dilulio used a self-report survey form completed by a random sample of 425 inmates from 3 Wisconsin prisons to estimate the number of crimes committed in the State each year. The calculations outlined in this critique give rise to doubts about the veracity of the survey results. The social cost per crime ($2,300) used by Dilulio is much lower than the cost estimated by other research groups (about $500) and he also uses a low estimate for the cost of incarceration, thereby skewing the cost benefit analysis. More significantly, however, is that the Dilulio study compares prison costs with the cost of freeing prisoners on the streets without supervision, an option which is not feasible in Wisconsin. This article notes that house arrest, intensive supervision, and specialized treatment programs may all prove to be cost-effective alternatives for Wisconsin's correctional system.