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| Ohio studies rising prison population |
| By bizjournals.com |
| Published: 01/20/2010 |
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Ohio is drawing on the expertise of a public policy organization as it looks for ways to curb a rising prison population and its costs while still bolstering public safety. Gov. Ted Strickland’s office Tuesday said Statehouse leaders, Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Moyer and other government officials are working with the Lexington, Ky.-based Council of State Governments’ Justice Center. The center has worked with nine other states on analysis and legislative options that have saved the governments money, Strickland’s office said. The state group’s research will draw on technical help from the council to look at criminal justice data with the hope of pinpointing why Ohio’s prison population is on the rise. The number behind bars hit a record 51,273 in 2008, the third consecutive year of increases, and dropped by just 23 inmates last year. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, which has an annual operating budget of $1.7 billion, is projecting the state’s inmate total is poised to grow 11 percent in the next decade. That increase that would lead to nearly $1 billion in additional costs without new policies. At the same time, Ohio faces a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall in the coming years. Strickland said the corrections department has made what he considers “major strides” in cutting costs. “We are undertaking this work to identify long-term strategies to reduce corrections costs so that we can better invest limited taxpayer resources to meet our public safety priorities,” he said in a release. Read More. |
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