Despite decades of construction and an ever-increasing budget, Nebraska’s prison system is the second-most overcrowded in the nation. Some facilities are holding between 2-3x as many people as they were designed for.

Notably, crime has fallen over the last 20 years while our prison population has spiked. In an effort to keep up, state spending on our prisons has outpaced growth in other major state funding areas and overall budget growth.

The cause of this crisis is multifaceted. It includes things like the failed war on drugs, aggressive prosecutors, institutional racism, and a failure to prioritize community needs through addiction services, mental health support and community investment.

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