Restorative justice: looking at the numbers

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.

• 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.

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