The Right Investment? Corrections Spending in Baltimore City
Published: February 25, 2015
Click on the communities below to see individualized profiles...
According to a new report released today by the Justice Policy Institute and the Prison Policy Initiative, Maryland taxpayers are spending $5 million or more to incarcerate people from each of about half of Baltimore’s communities (25 of 55), with total spending of $288 million a year on incarcerating people from Baltimore in Maryland’s prisons.
Based on data recently made available by a new Maryland law, The Right Investment?: Corrections Spending in Baltimore City shows for the first time where people who are incarcerated are from, and how much Maryland taxpayers spend on their incarceration. The report includes detailed tables that show where people incarcerated in Maryland are from, including the 23 counties and Baltimore City, select 157 cities and towns, and Maryland Senate and House of Delegate Districts, as well as information that can better inform investment decisions in these communities to help solve long-standing challenges and improve public safety.
Documents
The Right Investment? Corrections Spending in Baltimore City
Executive Summary
Press Release
Legislative & Policy Issues Affecting Incarceration

Media Coverage
West Baltimore offers vivid reminder of failed mass incarceration policy
Amadou Diallo, Al Jazeera America, Apr 30th 2015
Al Jazeera America
The Atlantic's CityLab
Background Briefing with Ian Masters
The Baltimore Sun ("A negative return on investing in prisons")
The Baltimore Sun ("At Resurrection Intersection, holding on to what's important")
The Baltimore Sun ("Report: Sandtown-Winchester leads state in number of people incarcerated)
Baltimore City Paper
Bloomberg Politics
The Boston Globe
These maps show the depth of Baltimore's inequality problem
Pamela Engel, Business Insider, Apr 29th 2015
Business Insider ("Baltimore neighborhood at the center of riots was a ticking time bomb")
Business Insider ("These maps show the depth of Baltimore's inequality problem")
Business Insider ("There's another reason why Freddie Gray's Baltimore neighborhood is so angry")
Bustle
BuzzFeed Ideas
BuzzFeed News
The Christian Post
Financial Times ("Baltimore police enforce curfew by firing pepper balls at crowds")
Financial Times ("‘No training, no money, no hope, no way of getting out’")
Financial Times ("Obama decries ‘slow-rolling crisis’ after riots")
'The Wire' in real life: the Baltimore neighborhood Freddie Gray called home
David Zucchino & James Queally, Los Angeles Times, Apr 28th 2015
Fusion
The Independent
International Business Times
Los Angeles Times ("In Baltimore, riots appear where urban renewal didn't")
Los Angeles Times ("'The Wire' in real life: the Baltimore neighborhood Freddie Gray called home")
Los Angeles Times ("Who is Freddie Gray, whose death is at the center of Baltimore's unrest?")
Maryland Morning (WYPR 88.1FM)
Goodbye to Freddie Gray and Goodbye to Quietly Accepting Injustice
Michael Eric Dyson, The New York Times, Apr 29th 2015
Mic
Midday with Dan Rodricks (WYPR 88.1FM)
Mother Jones
National Journal
The National Review
The New Republic
The New York Times ("Goodbye to Freddie Gray and Goodbye to Quietly Accepting Injustice")
The New York Times ("Hard but Hopeful Home to ‘Lot of Freddies’")
Red Alert Politics
TouchVision
Focus on Freddie Gray's neighborhood
DeWayne Wickham, USA Today, May 4th 2015
USA Today
Vox ("David Simon's brutal diagnosis of the problems with Baltimore policing")
Vox ("In Freddie Gray's Baltimore neighborhood, half of the residents don't have jobs")
Vox ("Riots are destructive, dangerous, and scary — but can lead to serious social reforms")
Vox ("Watch Jon Stewart’s brutal segment on how America ignored Baltimore before the riots")
The Washington Post ("These two maps show the shocking inequality in Baltimore")
The Washington Post ("What you really need to know about Baltimore, from a reporter who’s lived there for over 30 years")
The Washington Times
WBOC 16 (Chris Weimer)
WBOC 16 (Emily Stern)
Appendices
Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance Source Data [Information Used in Report]
Program Descriptions
Public Safety Compact
Number of People in Prison by...
Baltimore City Council Districts
Cities & Towns
Counties
Community Service Area
Senate and House District
Zipcode
Voting Precinct
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Posted in Criminal Justice (Adult), Fiscal Policy, Positive Social Investments