On April 7th, the NAACP released a new report, Misplaced Priorities, that examines America's escalating levels of prison spending and its impact on state budgets and our nation’s children.
Misplaced Priorities tracks the steady shift of state funds away from education and toward the criminal justice system. Researchers have found that over-incarceration most often impacts vulnerable and minority populations, and that it destabilizes communities.
The report is part of the NAACP’s “Smart and Safe Campaign,” and offers a set of recommendations that will help policymakers in all 50 states downsize prison populations and shift the savings to education budgets.
Below are profiles of the six cities studied in the report, as well as three profiled individuals. Click here to download a PDF of the full report.
Misplaced Priorities tracks the steady shift of state funds away from education and toward the criminal justice system. Researchers have found that over-incarceration most often impacts vulnerable and minority populations, and that it destabilizes communities.
The report is part of the NAACP’s “Smart and Safe Campaign,” and offers a set of recommendations that will help policymakers in all 50 states downsize prison populations and shift the savings to education budgets.
Below are profiles of the six cities studied in the report, as well as three profiled individuals. Click here to download a PDF of the full report.
City Profiles:
Houston, TX
In Houston, taxpayers spent over $175 million to imprison residents sentenced in 2008 from just 10 of the 75 neighborhoods in Houston. While these neighborhoods are home to only about 10 percent of the city’s population, they account for nearly a third of the estimated $500 million spent to imprison people sentenced in 2008 from all of Houston. Read more. Indianapolis, IN
Hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent by taxpayers to imprison people from Indiana’s biggest city, Indianapolis. 41% of those sent to prison from Indianapolis each year come from zip codes that account for just 16% of the city’s population. Read more. Jackson, MS
As Jackson’s education system experiences budget cuts, taxpayers are spending $24 million a year to imprison people from Jackson neighborhoods. While these neighborhoods are home to just over half of the city’s population, they account for over two-thirds of the total estimated $35 million spent to imprison people sentenced in 2008 from all of Jackson. Read more. Los Angeles, CA
More than 50 percent of the people who were in prison, and are now on parole in Los Angeles live in zip codes that are home to only 18 percent of the city’s adults. This means that more than a billion taxpayer dollars are spent every year to incarcerate people from Los Angeles neighborhoods where less than 20 percent of Los Angeles residents live. Read more. New York, NY
While the education system of New York city lost hundreds of millions of dollars in state and city funding, taxpayers spent over half a billion dollars ($539 million) to imprison residents sentenced in 2008. These residents came from twenty-four of New York City neighborhoods representing just over half of the $1.1 billion in funds spent to imprison people from New York City. Read more. 
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