Over the last 30 years, the number of West Virginians incarcerated has grown nearly five-fold despite a decline in the state’s population over this time. This steep rise is not due to rising crime rates in West Virginia, but the policy choices made by lawmakers to use imprisonment as a response to crime. Download PDF.
Criminal Legal System
On December 1, 2018, WVCBP Executive Director Ted Boettner presented at the first Mountain State Racial Justice Summit on mass incarceration in the United States and West Virginia. The presentation included information on prison demographic trends, the impact of incarceration on race, wealth and employment, along with policies to move our communities forward. View the…
Every year in West Virginia, around 4,000 juveniles will appear before a judge. Pending the judge’s decision, a juvenile may be given an improvement period to address the behavior, put on probation, referred to a special court, or committed to some form of out-of-home placement. However, the state’s juvenile justice system can be confusing and…
Despite little growth in either its population or crime rate, West Virginia has seen a marked increase in the number of people housed in its corrections facilities. As the state's prisons become overcrowded, West Virginia is facing a corrections crisis that not only impacts the state's budget but also the low-income and minority communities…