Report: New WA Prisons Could be Avoided

Population Forcast with Evidence-Based Programs

Adult Prison Incarceration Rates in Washington and the United States: 1960 to 2019

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Future prison construction could be avoided and taxpayers could save about $2 billion if Washington successfully increases the number of evidence-based programs in prisons throughout the state, according to a recent report.

The report by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy was commissioned by the state legislature, which is faced with projections that say two new prisons will be needed by 2020. The institute was directed to study the net long-term and short-term fiscal savings that could be achieved by state and local governments if evidence-based intervention, prevention and sentencing alternatives are used.

In order to have a significant effect on the prison population, the state would have to spend $22 million to $44 million more each year on evidence-based programs. If legislators implemented the programs, the number of offenders that participate could increase 20 to 40 percent.

Although the institute used research based on a review of programs that successfully reduce crime, and an economic analysis of benefits and costs of alternative programs, researchers say the changes could be difficult to execute.

The institute recommends policy review and management supervision to hold any new evidence-based programs accountable for the anticipated crime rate and cost reductions. An ongoing oversight process could be useful for quality control if a significant boost in evidence-based programs occurs, according to the report.

In addition to an increase in evidence-based programs, sentencing alternatives, prevention programs, program evaluations and extensions of the institute’s research could reduce crime rates and the need for more prisons, according to the report.