Report: Nearly 1 in 100 doin' time

WASHINGTON, March 3 (UPI) -- Nearly one of every 100 American adults is incarcerated -- a first in U.S. penal history -- a report released by the Pew Center indicates.

Besides reporting that 2.3 million adults were housed in jails or prisons in the beginning of 2008, the non-partisan center's States' Public Safety Performance Project report released Monday also identified what some states are doing to limit prison population growth and costs while maintaining public safety.

The report, "One in 100: Behind Bars in America 2008," indicated states spent more than $49 billion on corrections, up from $11 billion 20 years before, even though the national recidivism rate was virtually unchanged, with about half of released inmates re-entering the penal system within three years.

"For all the money spent on corrections today, there hasn't been a clear and convincing return for public safety," said Adam Gelb, director of the project. "More and more states are beginning to rethink their reliance on prisons for lower-level offenders and finding strategies that are tough on crime without being so tough on taxpayers."

An increase in crime isn't why prison populations are swelling, the Washington organization said, but an increase in choices, such as the popular "three-strikes" measure and other sentencing laws, imposing longer prison stays on inmates, the report said.

To counter overcrowding while trying to rein in costs, some states are getting creative in dealing with lower-risk offenders, Pew said. Options include a mix of community-based programs, treatment facilities, electronic monitoring systems and community service.