Realigning Justice Resources: A Review of Population and Spending Shifts in Prison and Community Corrections

This study demonstrated that there is not always a discernible relationship between population and spending shifts from one part of the system to another. Policy changes that aim to cut spending on prisons do not necessarily have the expected impact on community corrections populations or spending. Larger fiscal realities, other legislative changes, and factors outside of policymakers' control can upset predictions of a policy's impact (p. 2). Sections contained in this report include: introduction; methodology; summary of finding prison populations and expenditures, and community corrections populations and expenditures; and conclusion policy implications and fiscal realities. An appendix covers the structure of community corrections.