Crime Rate Drops; Prison Costs Rise

Idaho recorded the nation’s second-biggest drop in violent crime at a time when the state is poised to increase spending on prisons by 25 percent.

Idaho’s violent crime rate per 100,000 population dropped 17 percent from 1995 to 1996. But the Correction Department is the fastest-growing state agency with a budget that has increased from $17.1 million in 1987 to an expected $77.4 million in 1998.

The only state recording a larger drop in its violent crime rate was Iowa, at 23.1 percent, according to statistics recently provided by the FBI.

“It’s no accident that Idaho is doing better than most places,” Ada County Prosecutor Greg Bower said. “We feel people are willing to migrate to Idaho and pay for the security that an accountable criminal justice system gives them.”

Idaho has the 14th-lowest crime rate and the nation’s fifth-highest incarceration rate. The low crime rate is absolutely related to the number of people Idaho puts behind bars, Bower said.

The cost of that philosophy is left in the hands of policy-makers.

“As a prosecutor, I believe it’s cost-effective to have a community with a low rate of crime,” Bower said.

But Republican state Sen. Stan Hawkins of Ucon said the emphasis on incarceration is draining money from other needs.

“How long do we have to hear that argument before we find out that it’s not factual? We are going to destroy the budgets of education and overall state government,” Hawkins said. “It cries out for a comprehensive look.”

Fourth District Administrative Judge Robert Newhouse said he agrees with both sides: Strong law enforcement reduces crime, but prison costs have to be curbed. “I think there are ways we can cut down incarceration expense and still have good, strong law enforcement,” Newhouse said.