One in 31 U.S. Adults are Behind Bars, on Parole or Probation

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Explosive growth in the number of people on probation or parole has propelled the population of the American corrections system to more than 7.3 million, or 1 in every 31 U.S. adults, according to a report released today by the Pew Center on the States. The vast majority of these offenders live in the community, yet new data in the report finds that nearly 90 percent of state corrections dollars are spent on prisons. One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections examines the scale and cost of prison, jail, probation and parole in each of the 50 states, and provides a blueprint for states to cut both crime and spending by reallocating prison expenses to fund stronger supervision of the large number of offenders in the community.

"Most states are facing serious budget deficits," said Susan Urahn, managing director of The Pew Center on the States. "Every single one of them should be making smart investments in community corrections that will help them cut costs and improve outcomes."

In the past two decades, state general fund spending on corrections increased by more than 300 percent, outpacing other essential government services from education, to transportation and public assistance. Only Medicaid spending has grown faster. Today, corrections imposes a national taxpayer burden of $68 billion a year. Despite this increased spending, recidivism rates have remained largely unchanged.

Research shows that strong community supervision programs for lower-risk, non-violent offenders not only cost significantly less than incarceration but, when appropriately resourced and managed, can cut recidivism by as much as 30 percent. Diverting these offenders to community supervision programs also frees up prison beds needed to house violent offenders, and can offer budget makers additional resources for other pressing public priorities.

One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections provides a detailed look at who is in the corrections system and which states have the highest populations of offenders behind bars and in the community. Key findings include:

-- One in 31 adults in America is in prison or jail, or on probation or
parole. Twenty-five years ago, the rate was 1 in 77.
-- Overall, two-thirds of offenders are in the community, not behind
bars. 1 in 45 adults is on probation or parole and 1 in 100 is in
prison or jail. The proportion of offenders behind bars versus in the
community has changed very little over the past 25 years, despite the
addition of 1.1 million prison beds.
-- Correctional control rates are highly concentrated by race and
geography: 1 in 11 black adults (9.2 percent) versus 1 in 27 Hispanic
adults (3.7 percent) and 1 in 45 white adults (2.2 percent); 1 in 18
men (5.5 percent) versus 1 in 89 women (1.1 percent). The rates can
be extremely high in certain neighborhoods. In one block-group of
Detroit's East Side, for example, 1 in 7 adult men (14.3 percent) is
under correctional control.
-- Georgia, where 1 in 13 adults is behind bars or under community
supervision, leads the top five states that also include Idaho, Texas,
Massachusetts, Ohio and the District of Columbia.


The report also analyzes the cost of current sentencing and corrections policies. The National Association of State Budget Officers estimates that states spent a record $51.7 billion on corrections in FY 2008, or 1 in every 15 general fund dollars. Adding local, federal and other funding brings the national correctional spending total to $68 billion.

While total correctional spending figures have been available before, new data collected by the Pew Center on the States for the report provides the first breakdown of correctional spending by prisons, probation and parole in the past seven years:

-- In FY 2008, the 34 states for which data are available spent $18.65
billion on prisons (88 percent of corrections spending), but only
$2.53 billion on probation and parole (12 percent).
-- For eight states where 25 years of data were available, spending on
prisons grew by $4.74 billion from FY 1983 to FY 2008, while probation
and parole spending increased by only $652 million. This means that
while prisons accounted for one-third of the population growth, they
consumed 88 percent of the new corrections expenditures.
-- The 34 states that were able to provide data reported spending as much
as 22 times more per day to manage prison inmates than to supervise
offenders in the community. The reported average inmate cost was $79
per day, or nearly $29,000 per year. The average cost of managing an
offender in the community ranged from $3.42 per day for probationers
to $7.47 per day for parolees, or about $1,250 to $2,750 a year.


"Violent and career criminals need to be locked up, and for a long time. But our research shows that prisons are housing too many people who can be managed safely and held accountable in the community at far lower cost," said Adam Gelb, director of the Pew Center on the States' Public Safety Performance Project, which produced the report. "New community supervision strategies and technologies need to be strengthened and expanded, not scaled back. Cutting them may appear to save a few dollars, but it doesn't. It will fuel the cycle of more crime, more victims, more arrests, more prosecutions, and still more imprisonment."

One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections provides states with a blueprint and specific case studies for strengthening their community corrections systems, saving money and reducing crime. Research-based recommendations include:

-- Sort offenders by risk to public safety to determine appropriate
levels of supervision;
-- Base intervention programs on sound research about what works to
reduce recidivism;
-- Harness advances in supervision technology such as electronic
monitoring and rapid-result alcohol and drug tests;
-- Impose swift and certain sanctions for offenders who break the rules
of their release but who do not commit new crimes; and
-- Create incentives for offenders and supervision agencies to succeed,
and monitor their performance.

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Slightly Lower Adult Smoking Rates

Fewer U.S. adults smoke, but cigarette smoking continues to impose substantial health and financial costs on society, according to new data from CDC.

An estimated 19.8 percent of U.S. adults (43.4 million people), were current smokers in 2007, down from 20.8 percent in 2006, according to a study in CDC′s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, released in advance of the Great American Smokeout. However, based on the current rate of decline, it is unlikely that the national health objective of reducing the prevalence of adult cigarette smoking to 12 percent or lower will be met by 2010.

Smoking causes at least 30 percent of all cancer deaths, including more than 80 percent of lung cancer deaths, and 80 percent of deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Smoking is responsible for early cardiovascular disease and death. As a result, about half of all long-term smokers, particularly those who began smoking as teens, die prematurely, many in middle age.

“The good news, we continue to see fewer people smoking,” said Janet Collins, Ph.D., director of CDC′s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. “The bad news is we need more people to quit. Quitting smoking is the most important step smokers can take to improve their health and protect the health of nonsmoking family members. Smokers should be aware that there are treatments and services available to help them quit now more than ever before. Smokers can more than double their likelihood of successfully quitting by using medications and telephone counseling.”

Another MMWR study released this week by CDC assessed the U.S. health consequences and productivity losses attributable to smoking.

National estimates of annual smoking deaths indicate that, during 2000–2004, cigarette smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke resulted in approximately 443,000 annual premature deaths, consistent with previous estimates.

In addition, during 2001–2004, average annual smoking-attributable health care expenditures were approximately $96 billion, compared to $75 billion in 1998. Accounting for direct health care expenditures and productivity losses ($97 billion), the total economic burden of smoking is approximately $193 billion per year.

November 20, 2008, marks the American Cancer Society′s 32nd Great American Smokeout. The event encourages smokers to quit for at least one day in the hope that this might help them to stop using tobacco permanently. The Smokeout also draws attention to the many proven ways to encourage people to stop smoking. These include making it more affordable for people to use medical treatments, establishing smoke-free environments in homes, workplaces and restaurants, increasing the price of cigarettes, and mass media campaigns to inform and help motivate tobacco users to quit.

“If we want to see far more people quit smoking, we need expanded access to stop smoking programs, continued progress in eliminating secondhand smoke exposure and ongoing investment in programs that work,” said Matthew McKenna, M.D., M.P.H., director, CDC′s Office on Smoking and Health. “If, starting in 2009, all states were to fully implement tobacco control programs at CDC-recommended levels of investment, an estimated five million fewer people in this country would smoke within five years, and hundreds of thousands of premature tobacco-related deaths would be prevented each year.”

Tobacco users who want help in quitting can call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) (TTY 1-800-332-8615) for free telephone-based counseling anywhere in the United States or visit http://1800quitnow.cancer.gov for quitting assistance. Information about the Great American Smokeout is available at http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ped/ped_10_4.asp.

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New Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans

Adults gain substantial health benefits from two and a half hours a week
of moderate aerobic physical activity, and children benefit from an hour
or more of physical activity a day, according to the new Physical
Activity Guidelines for Americans. The comprehensive set of
recommendations for people of all ages and physical conditions was
released today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The guidelines are designed so people can easily fit physical activity
into their daily plan and incorporate activities they enjoy.

Physical activity benefits children and adolescents, young and
middle-aged adults, older adults, and those in every studied racial and
ethnic group, the report said.

"It's important for all Americans to be active, and the guidelines are a
roadmap to include physical activity in their daily routine," HHS
Secretary Mike Leavitt said. "The evidence is clear -- regular physical
activity over months and years produces long-term health benefits and
reduces the risk of many diseases. The more physically active you are,
the more health benefits you gain."

Regular physical activity reduces the risk in adults of early death;
coronary heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes,
colon and breast cancer, and depression. It can improve thinking ability
in older adults and the ability to engage in activities needed for daily
living. The recommended amount of physical activity in children and
adolescents improves cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness as well as
bone health, and contributes to favorable body composition.

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans are the most
comprehensive of their kind. They are based on the first thorough review
of scientific research about physical activity and health in more than a
decade. A 13-member advisory committee appointed in April 2007 by
Secretary Leavitt reviewed research and produced an extensive report.

Key guidelines by group are:

Children and Adolescents -- One hour or more of moderate or vigorous
aerobic physical activity a day, including vigorous intensity physical
activity at least three days a week. Examples of moderate intensity
aerobic activities include hiking, skateboarding, bicycle riding and
brisk walking. Vigorous intensity aerobic activities include bicycle
riding, jumping rope, running and sports such as soccer, basketball and
ice or field hockey. Children and adolescents should incorporate
muscle-strengthening activities, such as rope climbing, sit-ups, and
tug-of war, three days a week. Bone-strengthening activities, such as
jumping rope, running and skipping, are recommended three days a week.


Adults -- Adults gain substantial health benefits from two and one half
hours a week of moderate intensity aerobic physical activity, or one
hour and 15 minutes of vigorous physical activity. Walking briskly,
water aerobics, ballroom dancing and general gardening are examples of
moderate intensity aerobic activities. Vigorous intensity aerobic
activities include racewalking, jogging or running, swimming laps,
jumping rope and hiking uphill or with a heavy backpack. Aerobic
activity should be performed in episodes of at least 10 minutes. For
more extensive health benefits, adults should increase their aerobic
physical activity to five hours a week moderate-intensity or two and one
half hours a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity.
Adults should incorporate muscle strengthening activities, such as
weight training, push-ups, sit-ups and carrying heavy loads or heavy
gardening, at least two days a week.

Older adults -- Older adults should follow the guidelines for other
adults when it is within their physical capacity. If a chronic condition
prohibits their ability to follow those guidelines, they should be as
physically active as their abilities and conditions allow. If they are
at risk of falling, they should also do exercises that maintain or
improve balance.

Women during pregnancy -- Healthy women should get at least two and one
half hours of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week during
pregnancy and the time after delivery, preferably spread through the
week. Pregnant women who habitually engage in vigorous aerobic activity
or who are highly active can continue during pregnancy and the time
after delivery, provided they remain healthy and discuss with their
health care provider how and when activity should be adjusted over time.

Adults with disabilities -- Those who are able should get at least two
and one half hours of moderate aerobic activity a week, or one hour and
15 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week. They should incorporate
muscle-strengthening activities involving all major muscle groups two or
more days a week. When they are not able to meet the guidelines, they
should engage in regular physical activity according to their abilities
and should avoid inactivity.

People with chronic medical conditions -- Adults with chronic conditions
get important health benefits from regular physical activity. They
should do so with the guidance of a health care provider.

For more information about the "Physical Activity Guidelines for
Americans," visit www.hhs.gov or www.health.gov/paguidelines.

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