TAXPAYERS' COST


February 29, 2004 at 12:00a.m.


TAXPAYERS' COST
Pennsylvania's prisons
Snapshots of the Pennsylvania state prison system:
1990: Fifteen prisons; 21,000 inmates; 4,400 guards; average annual cost per inmate, $18,000.
1995: Twenty-two prisons; 32,000 inmates; 6,600 guards; per-inmate cost, $23,000.
2000: Twenty-five prisons; 36,000 inmates; 7,700 guards; per-inmate cost, $29,000.
Source: Pennsylvania Corrections Department