Oregon Public Broadcasting

One of every 33 adults in Oregon is either behind bars or on parole, according to a new study. As Kristian Foden-Vencil reports, the study found the state could reduce crime by releasing some prisoners and supervising them in their communities instead.

The nationwide study by ‘The Pew Center on the States,’ found that for every dollar Oregon spends on people behind bars, it spends 27 cents on someone on parole or probation.

Researcher, Adam Gelb, says Oregon could get a better bang for its buck by releasing ‘non-violent’ criminals and using that money for more comprehensive parole and probation.

Adam Gelb: “If we had a strong community supervision system, where offenders were supervised more closely, had programs that helped turn their lives around, enabled them to earn a pay check, pay taxes, pay victim restitution, pay child support, we would have to incarcerate far fewer people at far less cost to tax payers.”

But mandatory-sentencing advocate, Kevin Mannix, says few ‘non-violent’ offenders are behind bars.  And he said, people who have been robbed or had their identities stolen don’t like it when the thief just gets probation