> It's dollars cheaper It's only dollars cheaper in the short term, and even then only if one takes a very narrow view of the issue(s). Helping people reinteg

> It's dollars cheaper It's only dollars cheaper in the short term, and even then only if one takes a very narrow view of the issue(s). Helping people reintegrate into society can cut recidivism rates, as exemplified by Michigan's Prisoner Re-entry Program [0], which lowered the recidivism rate from 43.5% to 29% [1] and shrunk the state's prison population by 12% [2]. "If states could reduce their recidivism rates by just 10 percent, they could save more than $635 million combined in one year alone in averted prison costs." [2] Of course these programs cost money... but the Michigan program receives $12-20 million of funding per year, and has saved the state "hundreds of millions of dollars." [3] And there would also be savings in the areas of law enforcement, property damage, etc... [0] http://www.bhpi.org/?id=54&sid=1 http://www.bhpi.org/?id=54&sid=1 [1] http://michiganradio.org/term/michigan-prisoner-re-entry-program http://michiganradio.org/term/michigan-prisoner-re-entry-pro... [2] http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/0001/01/01/state-of-recidivism http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/00... [3] http://michiganradio.org/post/snyder-administration-cut-program-has-saved-hundreds-millions-prison-costs http://michiganradio.org/post/snyder-administration-cut-prog...