Wagner: Prison Reform Needed

Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that Pennsylvania could save $50 million in the upcoming fiscal year, and $350 million over four years if the state better utilized alternative-sentencing programs and implemented other reforms.

“With Pennsylvania facing its greatest budget crisis since the Great Depression, we must look for sustainable savings in every nook and cranny of state government, and that includes the criminal-justice system, which is one of the three biggest drivers of increased spending over the past decade,” Wagner said.

In 2009, Pennsylvania had the fastest-growing prison population in the nation, adding 2,122 inmates. Florida was second, adding 1,527.

On WESB’s LiveLine today, Senator Joe Scarnati said the state’s prisons have too many people in them who would be better off in drug or alcohol rehabilitation programs or mental health facilities. He said getting those inmates to where they should be would save a significant amount of money.

Graphic from the auditor general's website, where you can also find more information.