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CALIFORNIA’S BLOATED PRISON GROWTH

• Since 2000, prison costs have grown 50% to over $10 billion – about 10% of the
  state budget. It now costs $46,000 to incarcerate one person for one year in CA.
• Since the late 1980s, the prison population increased by 75% to over 170,000 –
  nearly three times faster than the general adult population. Meanwhile, the
  number of incarcerated nonviolent offenders skyrocketed from 20,000 to 70,000.
• In the 1990s, California built 21 new prisons and just one university. The state
  now spends about the same amount annually on prisons and higher education.
• From 1980 to 2000, the number of drug offenders behind bars jumped from 1,778
  to 45,455. Since 2000, the number of people incarcerated for drug possession has
  fallen by over 6,000 – thanks to Proposition 36 treatment-not-incarceration.
• About 20% of prisoners are incarcerated for a drug offense, but over 80% of
  inmates have a substance abuse problem. The prison system has capacity to
  provide treatment to only about 5%.
• Every month 10,000 inmates are released; most have not received treatment or
  rehabilitation behind bars. California’s recidivism rate is twice the national
  average at 70%. Each month 7,000 parolees are returned to prison.
• Since 1980, membership in the prison guard union increased 500% from 5,000 to
  31,000 – and average annual earnings grew from $14,400 in 1980 to nearly
  $90,000 in 2008 ($73,720 in base pay plus $16,000 in overtime).

IF PROP. 5 DOESN’T PASS…

• The response to California’s prison crisis will be determined by a federal court.
  On November 17, 2008, a three-judge panel will consider putting the entire prison
  system under federal receivership.
  (The Legislative Analyst’s Office calculates that Prop. 5 would reduce the prison
  population and parole populations by at least 40,000 in just a few years.)
• California prison spending is projected to reach $15 billion by 2011.
  (The legislative analyst calculates that Prop. 5 would reduce prison spending by
  $1 billion per year and cut prison construction costs by at least $2.5 billion.)
• Spending on drug and alcohol treatment in the community will continue to shrink;
  spending was cut by 10% in the 2008-09 state budget.
  (Prop. 5 would allocate increased and reliable spending on community-based
  alcohol and drug treatment programs proven to cut incarceration costs.)