Spending on prisons in rare drop

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The weak economy and dwindling stimulus funds are behind a rare drop in spending on prisons in many U.S. states, according to a study released Friday.

Vera Institute of Justice, a criminal justice research group, said the total amount of money that 44 states are planning to spend on prisons this fiscal year fell to $33.9 billion, down over 1% from the previous year.

The study, which was funded by the Pew Center on the States, said spending on prisons has been increasing annually since 1985. The rise in spending came as the prison population grew more than 200% over the last 25 years.

But the Great Recession has forced many cash strapped states to slash spending in the face of severe budget shortfalls. As a result, many sates have closed or down-sized prisons, fired or furloughed corrections workers and reduced sentences for some non-violent offenders.

"Given states' responses to the worst economy in decades and their reconsideration of basic criminal justice policies, the corrections bubble may have burst," the study said.

Despite the decline in overall spending, the study found that 19 of the states surveyed are planning "marginal increases" in prison budgets for fiscal 2011, which started in July for most states. Some other states are planning no change in prison spending.

New York had the largest drop in planned prison spending, with appropriations down 9.5% versus last year. Connecticut, Iowa and Oklahoma also had large declines.

In Wyoming, the prison budget went up 21% this fiscal year, due mainly to the opening of a new facility. West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Vermont were among the other states planning to increase prison budgets.

In addition to the weak economy, the drop in spending reflects the phasing out of federal stimulus programs, which helped prop up budgets in fiscal 2010.

According to the study, 33 of the 44 states that participated in the survey spent more than $1.35 billion worth of federal stimulus funds on corrections. In fiscal year 2011, only 22 states plan to fund their corrections budgets with money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The decline in prison spending also comes as the overall prison population is beginning to shrink, and crime rates have come down nation wide.

In 2009, the overall state prison population fell for the first time in 40 years, while the nation's violent crime rate has dropped 39% over the last decade, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the report said some states have been reducing spending on prisons due to dissatisfaction with previous criminal justice policies and unsuccessful investments in corrections departments.

Some states have been experimenting with new criminal justice policies, including relaxing mandatory sentences and alternatives to incarceration such as extended probation.

"As the economic crisis continues, many states are using the occasion of new fiscal imperatives to take a fresh look at the way they punish criminals," the report said.