From Deseret News archives:

Restorative justice: looking at the numbers

Published: Sunday, Jan. 14, 2007 12:31 a.m. MST
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
U.S. municipalities spent an estimated $18 billion in 2003 to incarcerate convicted criminals, up from $3 billion in 1982. Many of those prisoners are rearrested: 67.5 percent of those released from traditional jail programs nationwide in 1994 were arrested for a new offense within three years. At the end of 2005, one in every 32 American adults was in prison or jail or on probation or parole.

Salt Lake City's restorative justice program aims to reduce those numbers:

• One police response in Salt Lake City to calls regarding an intoxicated homeless person, not including ambulance services, medical attention or jail, costs $347.

• Total law-enforcement expenses were $840 during 2005 for all 17 individuals in Salt Lake City's Pathways program that provides help for homeless people.

• The city's Domestic Violence Court and Drunk Driving Court both have a 75 percent graduation rate. The DUI court is estimated to have saved taxpayers $490,000 in adjudication costs.

• The Misdemeanor Drug Court has eliminated 80,000 days in jail since its inception in 2001.

• Less than 10 percent of the 330 graduates of the prostitute-solicitors program from 2001-2005 were arrested again.

• About 2 percent of the 295 people who went through the Public Sex Crimes program from 2001-2005 reoffended.

• Adjudication for one offender in the Homeless Court costs $25, compared with $465 in traditional courts.

Story continues below
Source: Salt Lake City Mayor's Office and the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics

Comments

You can be the first to comment on this story.

previousnext

Latest comments

"Because he accept as an "OK" behavior something I find repulsive, I should...

To the guy who says I don't know basketball... I agree with most of what...

Harry Reid thinks this is historic? Unless you call placing the biggest scam...

Utes roll past Jaguars

While I agree that fireboylen is nothing more than an agitator, I don't see...

The definition of football in USA, about 12 guys on each team, at the signal...

Wendover airfield's legacy lost?

A lot of the most important US historical sites are private foundations;...

Why the rush to pass a 2000+-page law that does not take effect until 2013,...

BYU records with win

dude- check your stats man, Oklahoma already is bowl eligible with 6 wins, as...

Utah Utes whip SDSU

UTAH 173 BYU 3

If we need to raise taxes then may I suggest that all of the taxes are put on...

Advertisements