By Shawn Hogendorf
Shakopee.patch.com
Minn. — Minnesota has the second lowest incarceration rate in the country, according to state correctional officials, and they say that’s because only the most high-risk offenders spend time behind bars.
There are roughly 9,500 inmates in state prisons, representatives of the Minnesota Department of Corrections told members of the House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee. Maine has the lowest incarceration rate in the country.
Of the estimated 9,500 inmates in state prisons, 619 are incarcerated at Shakopee Prison (as of Jan. 21). Shakopee’s inmate population ranges in age from 19 to 79, with an average age of 35.
Statewide there was a dramatic spike of incarceration (about 3,000 inmates) between 2000 and 2007, due to an increase in methamphetamine offenders and a felony DWI law that was enacted in 2002.
Full story: Minnesota has Second Lowest Incarceration Rate in the US; Inmate Jobs Take a Hit