The U.S. system of mass incarceration costs the government and families of justice-involved people at least $182 billion every year, according to a report from the Prison Policy Initiative. The report assesses the costs of incarceration and “over-criminalization” in the United States and how the system’s various parts contribute to those costs. For example, it finds that nearly half of the money spent on running the correctional system goes to paying staff and only $4.5 billion is spent on providing defendants with legal representation, a constitutional right.
