NEW YORK – A report from the Center for Community Alternatives says during 2019, the 57 New York counties outside the City of New York spent just under $1.2 billion on local jails, compared with $107 million on community-based mental health services.
Organization Director of Advocacy and Organizing Katie Schaffer says that as 60 percent of New York’s Jail population was pretrial before bail reform, the counties spent a total of $706.6 million jailing legally innocent people in 2019 at an annual cost of $87,241 per person.
“This money that would be far better mental health services, on healthcare, on education, on supportive housing, on affordable housing, on all of the community-based resources and services that keep communities, not only safe, but thriving,” she said. “Bail reform is an opportunity to save money by incarcerating fewer people pre-trial and then to invest that money in community-based services.”
According to the report:
- Columbia County spent $4.9 million on jail and less than $1.4 million on mental health services.
- Dutchess County spent $39.4 million on jail and $8.7 million on mental health.
- Greene County spent $4.7 million on jail and $709,500 on mental health.
- Orange County spent $47.6 million on jail and $8.1 million on mental health.
- Putnam County spent $10 million on jail and $1.4 million on mental health.
- Rockland County spent $37.6 million on jail and $10.3 million on mental health.
- Sullivan County spent $12.4 million on jail and $224,600 on mental health.
- Ulster County spent $20.7 million on jail and $3.8 million on mental health.
- Westchester County spent $123.5 million on jail and $5.3 million on mental health.
