Key findings can be summarized as follows:

• For one of the most vital services government provides, the criminal justice system operates with limited transparency and accountability.

• Despite a significant decline in the total number of individuals held in correctional facilities in recent years, spending on prisons and jails continues to rise.

• Between FY 2011 and FY 2016, correctional spending grew faster than many other components of the Massachusetts state budget.

• Growth in correctional spending has largely been driven by rising employee wages and new hiring.

• With inmate populations declining and correctional facilities seeing potential cost savings, spending categories associated with recidivism reduction did not increase significantly, and these services continue to represent a small fraction of total correctional expenditure.

• There are large and growing disparities in correctional spending across agencies. In FY 2016, Bristol County had the lowest spending per inmate, at $41,013, while Berkshire County had the highest spending per inmate, at $87,579.