Crime and Justice International Magazine - Sam Houston State University

The state corrections industry in the United States expended $39 billion in 2003 (Hughes, 2006), an amount that exceeded the gross domestic product (GDP) of nearly two-thirds of all countries. Furthermore, over the past 20 years, corrections budgets have grown at an annual rate that far exceeds the growth in GDP of even the fastest growing countries. They are also, as a consequence of this rapid growth, consuming an ever growing share of state government expenditures (Hughes, 2006). Not surprising, some states, such as New Jersey, are looking for ways to control these costs while not appearing soft on crime. The vexing question facing many state legislatures is: How to reduce corrections costs without compromising public safety? Here is where the corrections industry (and state legislatures) might consider taking a page from the private sector management guide that encourages the use of empirical evidence to generate efficiencies. Principles of scientific management suggest that, without changing incarceration rates (preserving the tough on crime stance), the rate of growth in prison budgets could be reduced if prison administrations used evidence to adapt their practices in managing and releasing inmates. The challenge with this approach to cost saving becomes one of developing an evidence base and then using it to change practice.