The Pros And Cons In Support Of The Arizona Prison System

Across the United States, states and their governments have the tall task of keeping the streets safe from crime, and keeping criminals properly detained. States spend millions and even billions of dollars annually to run its prisons and support its inmates, and although many people support this, there is a large amount of tax payers who argue that education should have higher funding. Overspending becomes an issue when states and counties delegate more funding, which includes taxpayer money, to supporting these prisons than they do to other necessary institutions like public schools and public school students. The public, media, and government often argue whether rising funding and attention for prisons is a proper use of taxpayer money and

Of the 50 United States in 2011, the state of Arizona ranks ninth in crime rate with 3,961 crimes occurring per 100,000 people. This statistic is well above the national average, and ranks in the top 10% of the nation. And to go along with such high crime rates, high prison funding is sure to follow, a problem recognized by the general public. A fact sheet quoting data taken in 2010 states that the Arizona Department of Corrections had $998.5 million in prison expenditures, leaving the price of prisons nearing $1 billion. As if those raw numbers aren’t staggering enough, those who are against the current prison system in Arizona point to taxpayer dollars as a major point of concern. The same fact sheet showed taxpayer contribution to the Arizona prison system was over $10 million, an amount of money that doesn’t seem large, but when taken into account that taxpayers don’t make decisions on the prison system, as many prisons in Arizona are privately run.
Those against Arizona’s prison system point to funding in other major institutions in their argument, specifically the education system. Arizona’s public school system has been under nonstop scrutiny, not only by those in the state, but also even by leaders of other states. Arizona’s education funding is notoriously low, ranking 46th in the country in 2008, showing insignificant improvement in the following years. The basis of the argument by those against Arizona’s prison system is that the prisons are given way more money than they deserve, especially when things like public education face annual budget