By Steve kozachik

Ward 6

We have the highest rate of any western state, including California. That’s not something we should be proud of. In a state where the Governor and Legislature continue to slash our education budget, the cost of the Department of Corrections has increased by 67% since 2003. Today it absorbs over 11% of our entire state General Fund and is the 3rd highest agency share of the budget. That’s not sustainable economically, and it makes no sense from the standpoint of reducing future crime.

In Arizona, we have a perverse incentive to put people in prison. Why? Because the state is beholden to the private prison industry, and the contracts that guide that relationship rely on beds in prisons being filled. Conservatives cry foul when it comes to big government, and yet t

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