July 30th, 2015 by WCBC Radio
An analysis has found Maryland's prison admissions went down 19 percent over the last decade, driven by a 43 percent drop in admissions in Baltimore. The report was presented Wednesday by the Pew Charitable Trusts and its partner, the Crime and Justice Institute, before a state panel that is looking for ways to reduce spending on corrections.
The average sentence length for newly sentenced prisoners in Maryland has risen 25 percent over the last decade, with growth across all offense types.
The report noted that parolees are serving an average of nine months past their eligibility date, costing the system almost 1,600 beds.
It was the first presentation of findings for the Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Council. Analysts are collecting more background information to try to explain the findings in September.
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