skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Idaho’s Prison Population Bucks National Trend

play audio
Play

Thursday, March 18, 2010   

BOISE, Idaho - A yearly tally of state prison populations shows that, nationwide, numbers are lower than the previous year for the first time since 1972 - but not in Idaho. The number of inmates in state prisons at the beginning of this year was 0.4 percent lower nationally than in 2009; about 5,000 less for a total of around 1.4 million. But Idaho's state prison population rose by 110 inmates last year.

Adam Gelb, director of the Public Safety Performance Project for the Pew Center on the States, which issued the report, says the statistics demonstrate a shift in thinking has occurred within many states on managing public safety.

"There was an old way of approaching this issue; 'how do I demonstrate that I'm tough on crime?' But now, more and more policymakers are asking a better question; 'how do I get taxpayers a better public safety return for their dollars?'"

The tendency is to believe incarcerating more people is an indication a state is experiencing a lot of crime, says Gelb, while other factors are at play.

"It really is significantly a function of the decisions that are made by legislators, governors, parole boards and the courts about who they send to prison and for how long."

California's prisons experienced the greatest drop, with thousands of inmates released under new parole programs to try to save money. Oregon's population is also up, numbers are down in Washington, and the prisoner count is holding steady in Montana.

The full report is at www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_detail.aspx?id=57795.






get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …


Organizations fighting wage theft said it harms affected workers and surrounding communities because the money withheld is not being circulated through the local economy. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021