“The time is always right
“The time is always right
to do what is right” MLK
to do what is right”
MLK
NOW is the time for Transformation
of our Criminal Justice System
NOW is the time for 11X15
What is 11X15?
The “Eleven-by-Fifteen” Campaign is a challenge
from the faith community to all the people of the
State of Wisconsin:
So that we might all have less wasteful, safer,
healthier, and more just communities…
We must cut our prison population
by half
- to 11,000 by the end of 2015.
11X15 Transformative
Outcomes:
1. Transform as many as 11,000 lives
2. Transform our communities
3. Transform Wisconsin’s Criminal
Justice System
Wisconsin’s current
Criminal Justice System is:
Ineffective because it doesn’t make us safer…
Wasteful & Inefficient because it spends too much
on warehousing non-violent offenders and too little
on restorative and rehabilitative outcomes…
Unfair because it disproportionately punishes
people of color, people who are poor and people
with mental health and substance abuse health
issues…
This presentation will detail:
1. Ways in which our system of corrections
is ineffective, wasteful and unfair
2. Effective, practical, transformative
solutions & outcomes that are possible
and available to us NOW
3. What we can do to address the problem
4. A Vision for the Future
Wisconsin’s wasteful corrections
policies cannot be explained by
partisan politics because they
represent the choices and
priorities of recent Republican
and Democratic administrations
and associated legislatures.
WI Prisoners by race
Prisoners by County
(2010)
(2007)
Over half of our prisoners are African
American yet only 6.2% of our
population is African American
Milwaukee County makes up only
16% of the state’s population
Corrections in Wisconsin is a
growth industry
• WI has 36 adult correctional facilities
• Total operating capacity: 17,590
• Average daily inmate population: 23,015
• Average cost per inmate: Daily - $88; Annual $32,100
• Community Corrections: Probation 47,765; Parole
19,672 (on 1/31/11)
• 2010-11 Department of Corrections Budget: $1.3
billion
Wasteful corrections policies
cannot be explained by
circumstances. A comparison
between Wisconsin and
neighboring Minnesota is starkly
revealing…
WI
MN
2010 State Population
5,686,986
5,303,925
2010 Prison Population
22,019
9,429
Imprisonment Rate (2010, per 100,000)
387.2
177.8
WI
MN
Corrections Budget
(2009 millions)
$1,265
$521
Per Capita Corrections Spending
(2009)
$233.70
$98.93
In Wisconsin, we already have
Proven, Effective and
Transformative Strategies
In 2006, collaboration between Wisconsin Departments of
Corrections, Human Services and Office of Justice
Assistance, established the Treatment Alternatives
and Diversion (TAD) grant program to fund projects that
provide alternatives to prosecution and incarceration for
criminal offenders who abuse alcohol or other drugs.
The results are in…
TAD Works!
“TAD effectively diverts
non-violent offenders
with substance abuse
treatment needs from
incarceration and
reduces criminal justice
system costs…”
“TAD projects have
positive impacts on
individual offenders,
communities, and local
service systems…”
The full report of evaluation findings
and recommendations is available at:
http://uwphi.pophealth.wisc.edu/a
bout/staff/vanstellek.htm.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Day Report Centers
•
SSTOP
•
Universal Screening •
Drug Treatment Courts
Mental Health Courts •
Veterans’ Courts
•
•
Pre & Post Intervention
Job programs
Jail Diversion
programs
Restorative Justice
Crisis Intervention
And the list goes on…
Every single alternative
has proven effective but
the scale is way too small !
Effective in Transforming Lives…
“More than three-quarters of TAD participants
(76%) are not convicted of a new crime after
participating…(and) offenders who complete TAD
are less likely than those who do not complete to
be convicted of a new crime after program
participation”
What if…our counties had the capacity to triple or
quadruple or increase by a factor of ten, the number of
people served by alternative programs?
Emily’s story
“Drug Court saved my life….my son still has
his mother and I am actively working for
solutions for offenders just like me…nonviolent people seeking alternative ways to
take responsibility for their past actions while
helping to make their community safer and
healthier…”
Terry’s story
“…My conclusion is simple. Everyone like
me deserves the chance to change if they’re
so inclined, and the opportunity to change
and be accountable is the most fundamental
and basic right I have.”
Effective in making our
communities safer:
“Offenders who completed TAD are nine times
less likely to be admitted to state prison after
program participation than those who do not
complete TAD projects…”
What if… we could reach 4,000 more people
every year and make them less likely to re-offend?
What if… the number were 8,000?
Effectively Saves Taxpayers
Money…
“ Every $1.00 invested in TAD yields benefits of
$1.93 to the criminal justice system through
averted incarceration and reduced crime…”
What if… Counties could earn $15,000 from the state for
alternative programs every time they send someone to a
program that saves the state $30,000 by keeping them
out of the state prison system?
What if… Counties could tap into a $75 million state
pool of money to expand or create alternatives that could
ultimately save the state $300 million?
What if…our state of Wisconsin,
shifted $75 million dollars to
proven alternative programs for
non-violent offenders?
• Corrections spending could be redirected
and reduced…
• Dollar savings could be shifted to local
public schools and health systems...
• Human savings could be measured in
generational terms…
What Can We Do?
Demand healthier & safer communities based
on proven outcomes and strategies!
Wisconsin’s wasteful and inefficient
corrections policies affect us all.
Safer, healthier and more
just communities
can happen…but only,
when the people of Wisconsin
Demand it!
11X15 Now!
“The time is always right
“The time is always right
to do what is right” MLK
to do what is right”
MLK
NOW is the time for Transformation
of our Criminal Justice System
NOW is the time for 11X15
References
To learn more about 11X15, or to see the original sources for the facts
presented in this presentation, visit:
• www.prayforjusticeinwi.org
Or, contact the WISDOM office at 414-831-2070