ACLU’s Plan to End Mass Incarceration in Delaware

Delaware has 6,307 people in prison.

We can reduce that number.

If Delaware were to follow these and other reforms in this Smart Justice 50-State Blueprint, 2,993 fewer people would be in prison in Delaware by 2025, saving over $233 million that could be invested in schools, services, and other resources that would strengthen communities.

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Proposed reforms

Delaware

Violation of probation or parole-1,092 fewer people in prison

Reduce average time served by 50%
Institute alternatives that reduce admissions by 60%

Drug offenses-449 fewer people in prison

Reduce average time served by 50%
Institute alternatives that reduce admissions by 40%
Institute alternatives that end all admissions for drug possession

Weapons offenses-358 fewer people in prison

Reduce average time served by 50%

Robbery-318 fewer people in prison

Reduce average time served by 40%
Institute alternatives that reduce admissions by 30%

Burglary-219 fewer people in prison

Reduce average time served by 40%
Institute alternatives that reduce admissions by 30%

Public order offenses-182 fewer people in prison

Institute alternatives that reduce admissions by 50%
Reduce average time served by 50%

DWI-173 fewer people in prison

Reduce average time served by 50%
Institute alternatives that reduce admissions by 50%

Assault-151 fewer people in prison

Reduce average time served by 40%
Institute alternatives that reduce admissions by 30%

Theft-51 fewer people in prison

Reduce average time served by 60%
Institute alternatives that reduce admissions by 40%

Delaware would have 0 fewer people in prison with these reforms.

And save $411,029,700.

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Facts and Policy Reforms for Delaware

Delaware’s prison population exploded between 1980 and 2016, growing by 347 percent.

As of June 2017, there were 6,307 people incarcerated in Delaware Department of Correction institutions, including prisons and community corrections facilities. Over one in five (21 percent) were incarcerated pretrial, and hadn’t been convicted of a crime.

Of the state’s sentenced population, 59 percent were serving time in 2017 for a nonviolent offense, mostly drug and property crimes. In 2015, 25 percent of admissions to Delaware’s prisons were for offenses classified as “public order or other,” which includes offenses like perjury, disorderly conduct, and minor traffic offenses.

Unsurprisingly, Delaware’s mass incarceration crisis has had a particularly severe effect on Black Delawareans. Despite making up just 21 percent of the state’s adult population, Black people made up 60 percent of the prison population in 2017. In 2014, the state had the fourth highest rate of adult Black male incarceration in the country. And the number of women incarcerated in Delaware has skyrocketed, growing by 844 percent between 1980 and 2017.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Delaware can dramatically reduce its incarcerated population by implementing just a few sensible reforms:

Expanding diversion and treatment programs for substance abuse and mental health needs so that people aren’t incarcerated when they could benefit from different forms of intervention.
Reforming probation so that people aren’t set up to be incarcerated for violations of their community supervision.
Changing sentencing laws to allow judges to use their discretion when determining the appropriate penalties for convictions, including ending mandatory minimums and requirements that drug crimes be classified as violent offenses.
Expanding the availability of earned “good time” credits against a prison sentence through participation in educational, vocational, and other opportunities.

Were Delaware to follow these and other reforms outlined in the ACLU’s Smart Justice Blueprint, by 2025 it could have 2,933 fewer people in prison, saving nearly $234 million dollars that could be spent on schools, roads, and other services for state residents.

For more information, along with a detailed breakdown of Delaware’s prison population and the reforms needed to reduce it, click here.

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