1. The US has over 1.9 million people incarcerated in the country. We incarcerate more people than any other country on earth. The rate of incarceration in Pennsylvania as of 2021 was 659 per 100,000 - one of highest in the nation and in the world. 
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2. There are currently 24 prisons, 73 jails in 67 counties (multiple locations in larger cities) and one Boot Camp currently operating in Pennsylvania. As of 2020, the jail population was 31,790 with 36,000 state, 30,000 county, 5,500 Federal, 1,600 youth and 290 involuntary committed. 

3. 70% of offenders have an untreated substance abuse addiction. Upon release they are immediately at high risk for relapse, which leads to recidivism. Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) focus groups began in Pennsylvania in 2012 but weren’t fully implemented for Reentry until 2015.

4. Sixty-three of 67 Pennsylvania county jails house approximately 50,000 inmates. An estimated 70% of these inmates await trial because they cannot afford bail, filling jails with economically challenged individuals. As of January 2024, Pennsylvania had the highest rate of Parole Supervision in the country 394 per 100,000 with Probation Officers reporting an average caseload of 132. County probation & parole costs grew by 103% or $51 million.
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5. Local spending on jails tops $25 billion in latest nationwide data, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts. The cost per state prisoner is about $59,598. the average county jail spends $33,922 annually per person with increasing rates. Older prisoners 65 years of age or older can cost between $65,000 and $100,000 per year due to increased medical care.

6. More than 50% of Pennsylvania’s prisoners have children. Children with parents in prison have a five times greater chance of being incarcerated.

7.  31% of prisoners have some kind of mental illness. According to the Pennsylvania DOC statistics, as of December 31, 2023, 36.7% on the mental health roster and 7.6% seriously mentally ill. 

Please let us know what your opinion is.
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