After decades of sustained prison growth, today Arizona has the fourth highest imprisonment rate in the country and the prison system costs taxpayers over $1 billion each year. This prison growth cannot be explained by more crime or a larger resident population — instead it was driven by policy and practitioner decisions to send more people to prison for first-time and non-violent offenses, and to keep people in prison far beyond the national average.
This imprisonment crisis is not felt equally across the state — some communities bear the burden far more than others. This second report in a three-part series will examine Arizona’s geographical and racial disparities in prison use. It will also take a close look at Maricopa County, and why Arizona’s largest urban area is not following the lead of other similar cities that are safely reducing their reliance on prison.