A Beastly Bargain: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Prison-Based Dog-Training Programs in Florida

Abstract

Dog-training programs have become a popular form of alternative prison programming. One of the reported benefits of these programs is their low cost to the criminal justice system. Very little research has been conducted on their effects on offenders, and, to date, no cost-benefit analyses have been reported. This article presents a cost-benefit analysis using program cost and updated recidivism results from an evaluation of dog-training programs. The analyses projected that, for every criminal justice system dollar spent on the dog-training programs, between $2,877 and $5,353 were saved. These findings suggest that dog-training programs could be cost-beneficial.