Jail reform saves money – Winnipeg Free Press

U.S. President Barack Obama made a prison visit the media highlight of his weeklong campaign to make the justice system fairer. One of his key reasons for reform is the US$80 billion being spent annually on incarceration.

According to Manitoba’s auditor general, since 2008 alone the provincial government has spent $182 million to increase jail capacity and will need to allocate another $600 million to meet projected demand. Add to this a $100-million annual increase in operating costs, and it is safe to assume that, not including associated policing and court costs, a full five years of the revenue from the recent PST increase will be used up meeting this growing demand. A lack of preventive action on incarceration explains at least part of the Manitoba government’s current budget woes.

Obama says the main culprit behind high incarceration rates is unemployment of young black and Latino American men who currently make up 60 per cent of prisoners. Here in Manitoba, it’s aboriginal men who are overrepresented in the justice system. We all continue to pay for the harsh legacy of residential schools.

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