Missouri’s prison population has dropped….and the number of former inmates who go back to prison is down..
Missouri started a new system two years ago that lets judges know the likelihood that someone would re-offend if they were put on probation or given a short shock-sentence instead of being put in prison for long terms.
In the year before the new system was started, the prison population went up by 855 inmates. Since the sentencing recommendations went into effect, the prison population has dropped by 865.