The Cost of Housing an Inmate

It cost $20,758 a year to house an inmate in a California state prison in 1998-99.  Many people asked, "Why so much when we can educate a child for less than one-fourth that amount?"  A prison, however, is not a school.  Therein lies the answer.  The state must meet all basic needs of an inmate: food, shelter, clothing and health care.  Numerous laws, court actions and regulations mandate the level and the extent of these basic support services.  There are also costs to diagnose and process inmates.  But by far the greatest expense (and the greatest need) in prison is security.  The state must make sure that the prisons are safe for both inmates and staff.

All told, it costs an average of $129.04 a day to house an inmate in the prison system these days.  Although these figures come from California corrections, it is slightly lower in other parts of the country, but not by much.  In 2007, around $74 billion was spent on corrections.  The total number of inmates in 2007 in federal, state, and local lockups was 2,419,241.  That comes to around $30,600 per inmate.  In 2005, it cost an average of $23,876 dollars per state prisoner.  State prison spending varied widely, from $45,000 a year in Rhode Island to $13,000 in Louisiana.  In California in 2009, it cost an average of $47,102 a year to incarcerate an inmate in state prison. From 2001 to 2009, the average annual cost increased by about $19,500.  In 2003 among facilities operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, it cost $25,327 per inmate.  Housing the approximately 500,000 people in jail in the USA awaiting trial who cannot afford bail costs $9 billion a year.  Most of these jail inmates are petty, nonviolent offenders.  Twenty years ago most nonviolent defendants were released on their own recognizance but now most are given bail, and most pay a bail bondsman to initially pay it.  Bondsmen have lobbied to cut back local pretrial programs from Texas to California, pushed for legislation in four states limiting pretrial's resources, and lobbied Congress so that they won't have to pay the bond if the defendant commits a new crime.  62% of local jail inmates are awaiting trial. 

Here is a breakdown of inmate costs per year:
1. Security and Administration- To have someone on duty for security, it costs $19,663 per inmate per year. That amounts to $53.87 a day.  Inmates in state prisons are convicted felons and must be supervised 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.  Custody staff oversee the inmates' movements from the time they wake up, during meals, when working or in class, during free time, and while they sleep.  More than half of the cost of incarceration can be attributed to this critical need.  Administration costs are $3,493 per inmate per year. That amounts to $9.56 a day. That amounts to $23,156 per year for security and administration.
2. Health Care- The cost for inmate health care can be high.  Because every inmate is entitled to health care, the cost per inmate for health care per year is $12,442.  Broken down, that is $8,768 for medical care, $1,928 for psychiatric services, $998 for pharmaceuticals and $748 for dental care.  That amounts to $38.04 per day per year.
3. Operations- The operations costs per inmate per year are $7,214.  Broken down, that is $4,503 for facility operations, classification services is $1,773, maintenance of records is $660, assignment, testing and reception costs $261 and transportation costs $18.  That amounts to $19.76 per day per year.
4. Rehabilitation- The cost per year for rehabilitation programs per inmate are $1,612.  Broken down, that is $944 for academic education, $354 for vocational training and $313 for substance abuse programs.  That amounts to $4.41 per day per year.
5. Inmate Support- To house an inmate and provide inmate support, it costs approximately $2,562 per year.  For every incarcerated inmate, the state provides a clean, dry place to stay, three meals a day, necessary clothing, case processing, religious programs and other leisure time activities.  Combined, these basic services account for more than 1/4th of all inmate costs.  That is $1,475 for food, $439 for activities, $407 for canteen and employment, $171 for clothing and $70 for religious activities.  That amounts to $7.02 per day per year.

So a couple questions I have for you are: Do you feel as though $30,000 an inmate a year is too much to spend on someone whose in jail for committing a crime against society?  And what are some suggestions you feel could help potentially lower these costs?? 

http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/laomenus/sections/crim_justice/6_cj_inmatecost.aspx?catid=3

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122986066

http://www.peer.state.ms.us/472.html