Report Finds Wisconsin Spends More On Prisons Than Neighboring States

A new study finds Wisconsin spends more on jails and prisons than any of its neighboring states.

The report by the Wisconsin Budget Project says that based on U.S. Census Bureau figures, the state’s $1.5 billion prison budget is 12 percent higher than the national average, with only 11 states spending more per capita on prisons.

Tamarine Cornelius, who wrote the report, said the starkest contrast is with Minnesota, a state that has an incarceration rate less than half of Wisconsin’s.

“They have focused less on incarceration as a big part of their corrections system, and more on other ways of keeping communities safe that aren’t as expensive and don’t necessarily put people behind bars,” Cornelius said.

Expanding probation systems has been one such strategy, she said.

The report calls on state legislators to boost spending on such alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders. In Wisconsin, Cornelius said the $4 million a year the state now spends on treatment and diversion program amounts to less than 1 percent of the total prison budget.

Another recommendation in the report calls for expanding programs that reduce the barriers to jobs and housing that ex offenders face when they leave prison. Data on the DOC’s website indicates the state is increasing its efforts to help inmates prepare to enter the workforce when they reenter the community.

Calls and emails to the Department of Corrections for comments on the study were not immediately returned.