There's been a significant state of alarm over the speedy release of violent arrestees without trial in many US locations. Prosecutors seem to be reluctant to charge all but the most violent offenders and judges release many of them on their own personal recognizance. In addition, in cases where bail is required, non-profit organizations supply that bail. Offenders frequently fail to show up for court and are not seen again until being arrested for another crime. If this is true, what is the cause?
There might be many reasons for this trend but one that doesn't often enter the conversation is the expense of jailing offenders. That's jailing, not prison. According to Vera, a group concerned with the numbers of jailed in the country, at any given moment there are about 730,000 people in jails in the US. That's roughly equal to the population of Seattle, Washington. The bill for housing, feeding and monitoring the health of these prisoners is over $22 billion, more than $47,000 annually per inmate or about $130 a day, 47% of which is payroll.
It's impossible to listen to the conversations of city, county and state officials that oversee this industry but it's not hard to imagine that for a number of reasons they wish to see as few incarcerated in their facilities as possible. Expense would be number one.
A police patrolman generates income, from fines, for the municipality that employs him. A jail employee is an expense. It's easy to see why the coercion complex prefers its subjects to be on the streets rather than behind bars.
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