11X15 Powerpoint Feb 2012 - Ending Mass Incarceration in Wisconsin

“The time is always right

“The time is always right to do what is right” MLK

to do what is right”

MLK

NOW is the time for Transformation of our Criminal Justice System NOW is the time for 11X15

What is 11X15? The “Eleven-by-Fifteen” Campaign is a challenge from the faith community to all the people of the State of Wisconsin: So that we might all have less wasteful, safer, healthier, and more just communities…

We must cut our prison population by half - to 11,000 by the end of 2015.

11X15 Transformative Outcomes: 1. Transform as many as 11,000 lives

2. Transform our communities 3. Transform Wisconsin’s Criminal Justice System

Wisconsin’s current Criminal Justice System is: Ineffective because it doesn’t make us safer… Wasteful & Inefficient because it spends too much on warehousing non-violent offenders and too little on restorative and rehabilitative outcomes… Unfair because it disproportionately punishes people of color, people who are poor and people with mental health and substance abuse health issues…

This presentation will detail: 1. Ways in which our system of corrections is ineffective, wasteful and unfair 2. Effective, practical, transformative solutions & outcomes that are possible and available to us NOW 3. What we can do to address the problem 4. A Vision for the Future

Wisconsin’s wasteful corrections policies cannot be explained by partisan politics because they represent the choices and priorities of recent Republican and Democratic administrations and associated legislatures.

WI Prisoners by race

Prisoners by County

(2010)

(2007)

Over half of our prisoners are African American yet only 6.2% of our population is African American

Milwaukee County makes up only 16% of the state’s population

Corrections in Wisconsin is a growth industry • WI has 36 adult correctional facilities • Total operating capacity: 17,590 • Average daily inmate population: 23,015

• Average cost per inmate: Daily - $88; Annual $32,100 • Community Corrections: Probation 47,765; Parole 19,672 (on 1/31/11) • 2010-11 Department of Corrections Budget: $1.3 billion

Wasteful corrections policies cannot be explained by circumstances. A comparison between Wisconsin and neighboring Minnesota is starkly revealing…

WI

MN

2010 State Population

5,686,986

5,303,925

2010 Prison Population

22,019

9,429

Imprisonment Rate (2010, per 100,000)

387.2

177.8

WI

MN

Corrections Budget (2009 millions)

$1,265

$521

Per Capita Corrections Spending (2009)

$233.70

$98.93

In Wisconsin, we already have Proven, Effective and Transformative Strategies In 2006, collaboration between Wisconsin Departments of Corrections, Human Services and Office of Justice Assistance, established the Treatment Alternatives and Diversion (TAD) grant program to fund projects that provide alternatives to prosecution and incarceration for criminal offenders who abuse alcohol or other drugs.

The results are in…

TAD Works! “TAD effectively diverts non-violent offenders with substance abuse treatment needs from incarceration and reduces criminal justice system costs…”

“TAD projects have positive impacts on individual offenders, communities, and local service systems…” The full report of evaluation findings and recommendations is available at:

http://uwphi.pophealth.wisc.edu/a bout/staff/vanstellek.htm.

• • • • • •

Day Report Centers • SSTOP • Universal Screening • Drug Treatment Courts Mental Health Courts • Veterans’ Courts • •

Pre & Post Intervention Job programs Jail Diversion programs Restorative Justice Crisis Intervention And the list goes on…

Every single alternative has proven effective but the scale is way too small !

Effective in Transforming Lives… “More than three-quarters of TAD participants (76%) are not convicted of a new crime after participating…(and) offenders who complete TAD are less likely than those who do not complete to be convicted of a new crime after program participation” What if…our counties had the capacity to triple or quadruple or increase by a factor of ten, the number of people served by alternative programs?

Emily’s story “Drug Court saved my life….my son still has his mother and I am actively working for solutions for offenders just like me…nonviolent people seeking alternative ways to take responsibility for their past actions while helping to make their community safer and healthier…”

Terry’s story “…My conclusion is simple. Everyone like me deserves the chance to change if they’re so inclined, and the opportunity to change and be accountable is the most fundamental and basic right I have.”

Effective in making our communities safer: “Offenders who completed TAD are nine times less likely to be admitted to state prison after program participation than those who do not complete TAD projects…”

What if… we could reach 4,000 more people every year and make them less likely to re-offend?

What if… the number were 8,000?

Effectively Saves Taxpayers Money… “ Every $1.00 invested in TAD yields benefits of $1.93 to the criminal justice system through averted incarceration and reduced crime…” What if… Counties could earn $15,000 from the state for alternative programs every time they send someone to a program that saves the state $30,000 by keeping them out of the state prison system?

What if… Counties could tap into a $75 million state pool of money to expand or create alternatives that could ultimately save the state $300 million?

What if…our state of Wisconsin, shifted $75 million dollars to proven alternative programs for non-violent offenders? • Corrections spending could be redirected and reduced… • Dollar savings could be shifted to local public schools and health systems... • Human savings could be measured in generational terms…

What Can We Do? Demand healthier & safer communities based on proven outcomes and strategies!

Wisconsin’s wasteful and inefficient corrections policies affect us all. Safer, healthier and more just communities can happen…but only, when the people of Wisconsin Demand it! 11X15 Now!

“The time is always right

“The time is always right to do what is right” MLK

to do what is right”

MLK

NOW is the time for Transformation of our Criminal Justice System NOW is the time for 11X15

References

To learn more about 11X15, or to see the original sources for the facts presented in this presentation, visit:

• www.prayforjusticeinwi.org Or, contact the WISDOM office at 414-831-2070