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.

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