Previous analysis has shown a reduction in the prison and jail system populations in West Virginia. New evidence out of Charleston, West Virginia shows that there has been a large reduction in arrest rates as well.
The slogan “defund the police,” acknowledges an emerging sentiment that state and local governments have spent and are currently spending too much on law enforcement and not enough on social services, mental health, housing, and education.
West Virginia’s regional jail population has been growing for years at a cost to both county budgets and the safety of incarcerated people. Between 2010 and 2019, the average jail population increased by 30 percent.
West Virginia’s regional jail population has been growing for years at a cost to both county budgets and the safety of incarcerated people.