Posted
Wednesday, March 07, 2007; 4:38 p.m.
The Costs of Incarceration
The criminal justice system costs the United States from tens to hundreds of billions of dollars each year. And that does not account for the loss of income and support when a family member gets sent away. The Legislative Analyst's Office breaks down the annual costs to incarcerate an inmate in prison in the state of California for 2006-2007. Their findings are below.
By Hanna Ingber Win
The L.A. Pilot
| Type of Expenditure |
Per Inmate Costs |
Security |
$19,561 |
Inmate Health Care |
$9,330 |
Medical care |
$6,186 |
Psychiatric services |
1,751 |
Pharmaceuticals |
977 |
Dental care |
416 |
Operations |
$6,216 |
Facility operations (maintenance, utilities, etc.) |
$4,377 |
Classification and inmate services |
1,582 |
Reception, testing, assignment |
240 |
Transportation |
17 |
Administration |
$3,351 |
Inmate Support |
$2,527 |
Food |
$1,437 |
Inmate activities and canteen |
485 |
Clothing |
309 |
Inmate employment |
296 |
Employment/Training |
$2,053 |
Academic education |
$949 |
Substance abuse programs |
823 |
Vocational training |
281 |
Miscellaneous |
$246 |
|
|
Total |
$43,287 |
|
Family members and lawyers can visit inmates in rooms like this.
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