Financial Costs
Housing an inmate awaiting trial in Shelby County: $87 to $112 per day :: Annual cost: $36,317 per inmate- Cost per inmate in state prison: $60 per day :: Annual cost: $21,900 per inmate
- Shelby County inmates spent on average 9-10 months in jail :: Average cost: $16,200 to $18,000 per inmate
- Inmates with mental illnesses cost twice as much as other inmates and they are incarcerated two to five times longer.
- An estimated 700,000 adults with mental illnesses enter our jails each year
- Amount of Shelby County Sheriff’s budget spent on jail operations: 54-57 percent (the exact percent varies; in FY2012 it was 54 percent)
Incarceration of Youth
- Children who are abused are twice as likely to engage in criminal activity :: 50 to 75 percent recidivism rate among these youth
- Many youth are put in adult facilities where they are:
- 8 times more likely to commit suicide
- 5 times more likely to be victim’s of sexual assault
- 50 percent more likely to be attacked with a weapon
Impact on Youth
- 14 of the 209 Memphis City Schools are listed as high crime sites
- Average of 62 students enter our jails per week
Our Recent Work
- Served as a member organization of Mayor Joe Ford’s Drug Court Task Force, a body assigned to determine funding and propose operational recommendations to ensure the continued success of Memphis’ nationally recognized program for substance abuse treatment and diversion.
- Mobilized community support to ensure that the County Commission provided adequate funding for 2011 Shelby County Drug Court operations.
- Proposed an alternative treatment-based approach to curb instances of aggressive panhandling and advocated for the designation of a single division of General Session Court for all homeless-related cases so that there would be consistent prosecution, as well as alternatives to treatment and supportive housing options.
- Worked with Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) to introduce the Restorative Justice in Schools Act (H.R. 415) in January 2011.