Politics & Government
Sending NJ Parole Violators Back To Jail Isn’t Cheap: Report
If New Jersey stopped putting people back in prison for "technical parole violations," it would save taxpayers millions, a report says.
NEW JERSEY — There are lots of ways to get sent back to jail if you’re on parole in New Jersey. Many of them have nothing to do with committing another crime: missing a curfew, failing a drug test, not checking in with a parole officer. And if New Jersey stopped putting people back in prison for “technical parole violations,” it would save Garden State taxpayers about $90 million per year, a report says.
Advocates have been calling for state officials to start addressing the root causes of parole violations – and ease up on the “knee-jerk response” of throwing people back in jail, the New Jersey Monitor reported Friday.
About 80 percent of people who violate their parole are reincarcerated. It costs an average of $74,750 per year to keep someone in prison, while monitoring someone on parole costs about $6,351 per year, the Monitor reported. Read the full article here.
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