Wisconsin was second in the Midwest and 12th among all states in per capita correctional spending, according to a new wide-ranging report on Wisconsin’s criminal justice system.
Combined spending for the system and all of its functions between local governments in the state is between $4.5 and $6 billion annually, according to the study from the Wisconsin Policy Forum.
Law enforcement spending of $328 per resident in the local level was slightly below the national average but state spending on law enforcement was the lowest of any state in the country at $8 per resident, according to the report.
Wisconsin’s correctional system carries significant financial and human costs,” the report concluded. “State and local spending on corrections ranked 12th among the states in 2022, and Wisconsin had the highest cost per capita in 2021 to reincarcerate people for violations of community supervision conditions, although these reincarcerations have decreased in recent years.
“Corrections costs are likely to increase both from the significant wage hikes for prison staff that were approved by the Legislature in 2023 to combat persistent understaffing, and from growing medical costs to care for the aging prison population.”
