From The Crime Report:
The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center has issued what it calls a first-of-its-kind, web-based resource combining data analyses, case studies and recommended strategies for all 50 states to help policymakers address public safety challenges.
The “50-State Report on Public Safety” includes more than 300 “data visualizations” comparing crime, recidivism and correctional practices across all 50 states.
The report discusses these data along with research on strategies aimed at improving public safety, giving more than 100 examples of public safety innovations drawn from every state.
Among the report’s major points:
Between 2006 and 2016, violent crime rates decreased in 32 states. Violent crime increased in rural areas in 16 states.
The number of drug overdose deaths is almost four times higher than the number of homicides. Two decades ago, the numbers were about the same.
In 2015, states spend nearly 10 times as much on prisons as on community supervision of offenders, although there were 4.5 million people on probation and parole and 1.5 million in state prisons.
Most states track recidivism of people leaving prison. Thirty-two states use a narrow definition of the term that includes only people who are reincarcerated, not all rearrests and reconvictions.
Corrections populations increased in the last decade in 42 states, and 24 states project growth in prison populations.
According to a press release from the center, Alabama state Sen. Cam Ward praised the report, saying that it “gives policymakers a blueprint for achieving results, and the strategies offered here will be useful for years to come.”
Read the full report here.
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