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George B., might be given probation and sentenced to attend a drug rehabilita- tion program. Some go to jail or prison but are released early on parole . Some might be sentenced to community service and work (for free) for a government agency or a nonprofit organization. Others might be sent to a boot camp, where they undergo military-style discipline. Still others are put on house arrest and serve their sentence under electronic monitoring at home. Others are ordered to serve part-time at a day reporting center. Participants in day re- porting programs are required to report to a center each day and maintain a schedule of classes or participate in counseling, job skills training, and drug treatment. The Need for Alternatives Why are there so many alternatives to prison? One reason is simple practicality. The United States, for example, has more than three times as many prisoners as it did just 25 years ago. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, about four million Americans were under correctional supervision in 1990, which includes those in prison, on probation, or on parole. By 2013 that number had risen to almost seven million, and there just isn’t enough prison space to have them all incarcerated. The cost of keeping someone in prison continues to rise as well. In 1999 Americans spent $49 billion on prisons. That was more than double what was spent just 10 years earlier. By 2014 that number was up to more than $80 billion. Between 1988 and 2014 prison costs quadrupled. Put another way, the average American paid $104 a year to keep someone in prison in 2001. Less than 15 years later, that number rose to $260. As of 2015 it cost an average of $31,000 to incarcer- ate one prisoner. In Canada it’s even higher: about $119,000 a year (about $92,000 American). That’s more than enough to pay for a year of tuition at a top-notch private university. The Difference Between Jail and Prison Usually, when people are first arrested, they are put in jail. A jail is generally a small facility operated by the local county, city, or town. Unless they can afford bail or are released on just their promise that they will appear for all hearings, people are held in jail until their trials. Jails also hold people convicted of minor crimes. Peo- ple convicted of major crimes are sent to prisons, which are usually much larger than jails. Most prisons are run by either state governments or the federal government. Some prisons, however, are privately owned and run by companies. These are often referred to as for-profit prisons.

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the prison System