Massachusetts continues to spend extra placing and retaining individuals behind bars than every other state, based on a current examine.
Whereas the Bay State can boast the bottom incarceration fee among the many 50 states, it spends greater than twice per prisoner as Vermont, the second highest spending jurisdiction, based on a current examine printed by the legislation agency Bader Scott.
The legislation agency’s examine matches findings printed by authorities information aggregator USAFacts in 2024, and in each publications, the Bay State is listed as spending $307,468 per prisoner.
Vermont, which the examine reveals spends round $134,000 per inmate, got here in at quantity two, whereas the lowest-spending Arkansas, was discovered to shell out simply $23,000 per confined particular person.
Based on Seth Bader, the legislation agency’s founder, a state’s funding in correction straight correlates to its outcomes.
“These financial decisions impact everything from rehabilitation programs to recidivism rates. States that invest more per prisoner often provide better educational opportunities and mental health services, which can reduce the likelihood of reoffending after release,” Bader stated.
The examine examined information from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of State and Native Authorities Funds in opposition to jail inhabitants information offered by the Bureau of Justice Statistics to reach on the value borne by every state’s Division of Corrections equal and different state-level “criminal justice agencies.”
The examine discovered that, total, states that spend much less per prisoner are inclined to have much more individuals behind bars, based on Bader.
“Our research also highlights that states with lower per-prisoner spending typically have higher incarceration rates. This raises important questions about the relationship between adequate funding and effective criminal justice outcomes. The unprecedented spending variations across states will likely prompt policymakers to examine how prison budgets are allocated. The median state expenditure per prisoner stands at $64,865, yet 29 states fall below this figure,” he stated.
The examine additionally examined the worldwide jail inhabitants, discovering that the U.S. continues to restrict the most individuals. China, which claims about 4 instances the U.S. inhabitants, has imprisoned round 1.69 million individuals, whereas there are roughly 1.76 million individuals incarcerated throughout the 50 states.
Protecting prisoners inside one in every of its Division of Correction services accounts for a big chunk of the cash spent per prisoner in Massachusetts — overlaying every thing from housing, healthcare wants, substance use therapies, academic programming, meals, clothes, toiletries, and administrative bills — whereas the remainder of the fee is unfold among the many state’s varied prison justice adjoining companies, based on the examine.
Utilizing figures from 2021, when the DOC’s price range of $720 million is split by the roughly 6,600 confined individuals in Massachusetts that yr, the fee comes out to about $107,000 per particular person. Nevertheless, there are different prices related to retaining an individual in a DOC facility that push the value tag larger, based on division spokesman Scott Croteau.
“The Massachusetts Department of Correction invests approximately $131,000 per incarcerated individual each year to uphold its mission of maintaining a safe, secure and rehabilitative environment,” Croteau stated.
This funding, Croteau stated, is a mirrored image of the state company’s “deep commitment to addressing the complex healthcare needs of the 6,000 individuals in our care while providing the education, job training and substance use treatment to support successful reintegration.”
Based on data offered by the DoC, in 2019 the recidivism fee for Massachusetts prisoners inside three years of launch was 26%. Evaluate that to information out of Delaware, the place in 2018 about 56% of prisoners had returned to state custody inside three years of launch.
“As a national leader in reducing recidivism and incarceration rates, Massachusetts leverages evidence-based programs and strategic resource management to promote rehabilitation, accountability and post-incarceration success,” Croteau stated.
Past the state’s want to really reform its prisoners, the Bay State’s corrections prices are additionally buoyed by the identical forces that make every thing else within the state costly — excessive housing costs, upkeep of outdated services, and a comparatively excessive value of residing.
Whereas the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that the median wage for a corrections officer is simply shy of $59,000 yearly, jail guards in Massachusetts are among the many highest paid within the nation and made a median wage of $77,260 in 2023. Final yr, at the very least 4 officers labored sufficient extra time to earn greater than $300,000, and one other 49 clocked the hours to earn greater than $200,000.
Aside from these excessive extra time earners, a corrections officer’s wage is mostly not lots to dwell on within the Bay State, the place the median value of residing breaks into six figures. Working with prisoners can also be a harmful line of labor. From January to July of final yr alone, 156 officers have been injured on the job, 53 have been uncovered to harmful medicine, and 34 have been pelted with bodily fluids.
Peter Brown, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union, stated the Bay State’s corrections officers are “in favor of” spending on “education programs and mental health services,” however that there are different areas of the system that might use some financial consideration.
“We ask that the Department of Correction keep its focus on the safety inside the prisons,” he added, particularly as a result of “an increase over the last few years in illicit drug use and assaults on our officers with deadly weapons.”
