As anyone with an incarcerated family member knows, life behind bars is expensive. Incarcerated people in Vermont have expenses that are not met by the state: they need to keep themselves stocked with shirts, socks, and other clothing. They need to purchase stamps, paper, and envelopes if they want to write letters. Someone has to keep their phone account funded in order to call loved ones. They need to purchase food and other items from the commissary. Not all people in prison can have jobs there, and if they do, they earn in the neighborhood of $1 per day. It’s not going to go very far.
So I wasn’t surprised to hear National Public Radio reporting on the “hidden costs of incarceration,” although I was encourged to hear it being addressed. NPR reported in June, 2025;
“According to a report released this week from FWD.us, an advocacy organization aimed at criminal justice reform, having a loved one in prison or jail is estimated to cost families across the country nearly $350 billion each year — about four times the amount the federal government estimates it costs taxpayers annually to operate the nation’s prisons and jails.
“On average, people with a family member behind bars spend around $4,000 a year on their incarcerated loved ones, the report says.”
It’s important to remember that this burden is falling on families who are already struggling with the loss of income from the incarcerated person. Families may need to call on community or governmental supports that they didn’t need previously.
Not only are families losing out, so are our communities. Taking people out of the workforce has a negative impact on the local economy. It affects the tax base. And taxpayers are paying upwards of $100,000 a year for each incarcerated person. When these people are released, in almost every case, they will struggle to find employment again.
After a downward trend in the state’s prison population, the numbers are rising again to pre-pandemic levels. And with the legislature increasing penalties for several offenses in the last session, the numbers are likely to continue to trend upwards. We incarcerate Vermonters at a rate of 245 per 100,000 people, which is higher than almost any democratic country on the planet.
Maybe it’s time to think about who we incarcerate, and why, and for how long. We should think about the benefits we are, or aren’t, receiving from this practice.
NPR: The cost of true cost of prisons and jails may be greater than many realize, researchers say.
https://www.fwd.us/
Prison Policy Initiative: Economics of Incarceration
As anyone with an incarcerated family member knows, life behind bars is expensive. Incarcerated people in Vermont have expenses that are not met by the state: they need to keep themselves stocked with shirts, socks, and other clothing. They need to purchase stamps, paper, and envelopes if they want to write letters. Someone has to keep their phone account funded in order to call loved ones. They need to purchase food and other items from the commissary. Not all people in prison can have jobs there, and if they do, they earn in the neighborhood of $1 per day. It’s not going to go very far.
So I wasn’t surprised to hear National Public Radio reporting on the “hidden costs of incarceration,” although I was encourged to hear it being addressed. NPR reported in June, 2025;
“According to a report released this week from FWD.us, an advocacy organization aimed at criminal justice reform, having a loved one in prison or jail is estimated to cost families across the country nearly $350 billion each year — about four times the amount the federal government estimates it costs taxpayers annually to operate the nation’s prisons and jails.
“On average, people with a family member behind bars spend around $4,000 a year on their incarcerated loved ones, the report says.”
It’s important to remember that this burden is falling on families who are already struggling with the loss of income from the incarcerated person. Families may need to call on community or governmental supports that they didn’t need previously.
Not only are families losing out, so are our communities. Taking people out of the workforce has a negative impact on the local economy. It affects the tax base. And taxpayers are paying upwards of $100,000 a year for each incarcerated person. When these people are released, in almost every case, they will struggle to find employment again.
After a downward trend in the state’s prison population, the numbers are rising again to pre-pandemic levels. And with the legislature increasing penalties for several offenses in the last session, the numbers are likely to continue to trend upwards. We incarcerate Vermonters at a rate of 245 per 100,000 people, which is higher than almost any democratic country on the planet.
Maybe it’s time to think about who we incarcerate, and why, and for how long. We should think about the benefits we are, or aren’t, receiving from this practice.
NPR: The cost of true cost of prisons and jails may be greater than many realize, researchers say.
https://www.fwd.us/
Prison Policy Initiative: Economics of Incarceration
Vermont Just Justice is an all-volunteer organization. Help us continue to support Vermont’s incarcerated people and change our state’s criminal legal system.