Natl: New Report Shows What Makes Us Safer

With 2.2 million people in prisons and jails across the country, are we any safer? A new report from the Vera Institute of Justice, Reconsidering Incarceration: New Directions for Reducing Crime, shows that there’s not a clear connection between incarceration and public safety. What would make us safer? The report shows that increasing high school graduation rates and decreasing unemployment are better investments than prison for decreasing crime.

In some communities with high incarceration rates, crime is actually increasing. Other research suggests that incarceration might increase public safety up to a point, but we're way beyond that point in our country where incarceration can decrease crime. This means that we could be putting our tax dollars toward other more effective solutions that increase public safety.

This news brief is based on the report Reconsidering Incarceration: New Directions for Reducing Crime from the Vera Institute of Justice. If the link is broken, check the organization’s web site.