Press Release: Regional Institute Releases Report on Alternatives to Incarceration in Erie County

The Regional Institute has released its findings of an assessment of the Erie County criminal justice system, part of an effort to identify strategies for alleviating jail overcrowding in the county. Since 2000, the jail population at Erie County’s two local facilities – the Erie County Holding Center and Erie County Correctional Facility – has spiked 18 percent, while capacity to house inmates has remained stagnant. A lack of alternatives to incarceration programs, inappropriate containment of inmates with mental health conditions and inefficiencies in the county’s jail management system have contributed to the overcrowding.