Some released prisoners cost municipalities millions by reoffending, but don’t have to

One major consequence of the rising prison populations seen in the past 30 years has been the growth in the number of prisoners released into American communities every year, many of whom go on to commit further crimes. These crimes come with a cost to society. Using New Jersey as a case study, Michael Ostermann & Joel M. Caplan estimate that reoffending within three years of release was valued by the public at almost $6 billion, with an average cost of $80,000 per offense. These costs were also concentrated in the state’s most economically and socially disadvantaged areas. In light of these findings, they argue that not only is incarceration ineffective in cutting the costs of crime, but that policymakers should focus their rehabilitation efforts on those they determine are most likely to re-offend.