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Abstract: 

This article compares the costs associated with incarceration with the costs associated with established alternatives to incarceration. Cost-benefit or cost-savings data—actual costs, both historical and current—arepresented in an effort to quantify the debate over incarceration. The research clearly documents the efficacy of community-based correctional programs, as well as the considerable cost savings associated with these programs. As prison populations continue to rise, both at the national and state level, policymakers, legislators, and sentencing commissions will continue to face harsh realities surrounding how to effectively manage their respective correctional populations, with the key question—“ to build or not to build”—becoming more controversial and contentious. Researchers and evaluators can, and should, be involved in this policy debate and can play a vital role by conducting policy-relevant cost-benefit studies in order to provide decision makers with better and more useful data to assist in policy discussions and formulation.

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Affiliations:  1: North Carolina Criminal Justice Analysis Center; 2: North Carolina Criminal Justice Analysis Center; 3: North Carolina Criminal Justice Analysis Center; 4: North Carolina Criminal Justice Analysis Center.