The Price of Punishment: Public Spending for Corrections in New York
Other Titles in This Series
Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity: Action, Inaction, Reaction, Nijole Benokraitis and Joe R. Feagin
The Chicano Experience, edited by Stanley A. West and June Macklin
The Economic Value of the Quality of Life, Thomas M. Power
Japanese Americans: Changing Patterns of Ethnic Affiliation over Three Generations, Darrel Montero
Westview Special Studies in Contemporary Social Issues
The Price of Punishment: Public Spending for Corrections in New York
A Report of The Correctional Association of New York and the Citizens Inquiry on Parole and Criminal Justice, inc.
Douglas McDonald
Despite the intensity of the national debate concerning control and correctional policies, neither the costs of existing agencies nor of alternative approaches are adequately understood. Accurate figures are not reported to private citizens or public officials, and spending is fragmented among different agencies and governing units. This study presents a comprehensive description and analysis of how much money was actually spent in New York in 19771978, at all levels of government, for each of the control systems that incarcerate or supervise criminal offenders/defendants. After a broad overview of criminal justice spending, it details spending for prisons, jails, probation, and parole; evaluates the services provided by these public expenditures; and discusses proposals for alternative penal policies and their fiscal implications. The book concludes with recommendations for improved government cost accounting, as well as suggestions for broader penal reforms. Although restricted to an analysis of New York, the findings and recommendations are broadly relevant to other regions of the country.
Douglas McDonald, a sociologist, is director of the Citizens Inquiry on Parole and Criminal Justice, Inc. The Correctional Association of New York and the Citizens Inquiry are private organizations with a longstanding involvement with criminal justice reform.
The Joint Report of The Correctional Association of New York and the Citizens Inquiry on Parole and Criminal Justice, Inc.
First published 1980 by Westview Press
Published 2019 by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright 1980 by the Citizens Inquiry on Parole and Criminal Justice, Inc., and The Correctional Association of New York
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 80-80512
ISBN 13: 978-0-367-29536-3 (hbk)
Joint Committee for the Criminal Justice Costs Project
Ramsey Clark
Clark, Wulf, Levine & Peratis
Chairman, Citizens Inquiry on Parole and Criminal Justice
George G. Walker
Chairman, The Correctional Association of New York
Betty J. Bernstein
Co-Director, Criminal Justice Costs Project
Diana R. Gordon
Vice President, National Council on Crime and Delinquency
Douglas McDonald
Director, Citizens Inquiry on Parole and Criminal Justice
Adam F. McQuillan
Former President, The Correctional Association of New York
Dan Pochoda
President, The Correctional Association of New York
Susan A. Powers
Special Assistant Attorney General with the Special Prosecutor for Nursing Homes, Health, and Social Services
David Rudenstine
Associate Professor of Law, Cardozo Law School
Staff for the Criminal Justice Costs Project
Douglas McDonald
Betty J. Bernstein, Ph.D.
Part-Time Staff
Martin Barr
Mira Kyzyk
Cathy Zall
Doreen Reel
Sally Silvers
Marna Walsh
This report has benefited from the contributions of many people and organizations. Most important were the hundreds of public officials who patiently answered our queries, read and corrected preliminary drafts of the various chapters, and directed us to other sources of data. Many went far beyond the call of duty in their help and we regret that they are too numerous to be thanked individually. Most crucial was the cooperation of the agencies examined in this report. Their executive officers and employees gave us an enormous amount of fiscal information. We especially appreciate the cooperation of the New York State Department of Correctional Services, the State Division of Parole, the State Division of Probation, the State Department of Audit and Control, the State Commission of Correction, the Division of the Budget, the New York City Departments of Correction and Probation, the City Office of Management and Budget, the Office of the New York City Deputy Mayor for Criminal Justice, and the New York City Office of the Comptroller. We also thank the county executives and legislative committees in Westchester, Rockland, and Rensselaer counties, as well as corrections and probation officials there.
George Walker conceived of the project and proposed the collaboration between the two sponsoring organizations. Other members of the Joint Project Committee spent long hours reading successive drafts of this report and attending numerous meetings. Their patience and guidance are very much appreciated. Dan Pochodas contribution is especially large. Although he came to the committee after the project was underway, he had a strong hand in shaping the final product.
Very helpful were the criticisms, suggestions, and advice of Marsha Garrison, Richard McGahey, Karen Reixach, and David Beier. To the latter I owe a special debt for his long hours of stimulating discussion and patient reading of earlier drafts. I am also indebted to John Taylor for editing the final draft.
Betty Bernsteins contribution to this report has been enormous. She established the general approach to be made in the fiscal analysis and collected a good portion of the fiscal information. After the research had begun she turned her efforts to writing the companion volume to this report entitled Calculating Criminal Justice Costs: A Manual for Citizens . At all stages of the project she remained a valuable source of advice, direction, and intelligence.
Martin Barr provided much assistance in writing draws very heavily upon his earlier drafts.
The job of typing what seemed to be endless drafts fell upon Doreen Reel and Marna Walsh. Marna singlehandedly produced the final copy of the manuscript, an arduous and tedious task. I am grateful for her innumerable last minute editorial suggestions and especially for her patience.
Finally, financial support for this project was provided by generous grants from the North Shore Unitarian Veatch Program, the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, the Chemical Bank, and several anonymous donors. Without their public-spirited contributions this publication would not have been done.
