Cost Savings from Teaching the Transcendental Meditation Program in Prisons

• Published in: Journal of offender rehabilitation Vol. 36; no. 1-4; pp. 319 - 331
• Main Author: Magill, David L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Taylor & Francis Group 11.08.2003; Taylor & Francis LLC
• Subjects: Correctional Institutions; Cost control; Cost savings; Crime prevention; criminal behavior; Metacognition; Prisons; Program Costs; recidivism; Rehabilitation of criminals; Transcendental Meditation
• ISSN: 1050-9674; 1540-8558
• DOI: 10.1300/J076v36n01_15

This paper quantifies cost savings to correctional systems and to society resulting from implementation of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) 1 program. Based on results from studies at several maximum-security prisons, including Folsom and San Quentin in California and Walpole in Massachusetts, up to 56% fewer inmates are convicted of new crimes when they are released after beginning the TM program. Furthermore, practitioners of this program are returned to prison up to 45% less often for parole violations or any other reason. These and other effects described in this paper allow the TM program to lower costs. Savings are projected to arise from: (a) reduced recidivism, (b) reduced medical expenses, (c) a more manageable prison environment, (d) improved quality of life for staff, and (e) a reduced crime rate for society. Conservatively, the overall ratio of program cost to total savings is estimated at 1 to 10, with 46% of savings accruing to the correctional system and 54% to the general public. Total savings over 5 years for every 1,000 inmates and 100 correctional officers instructed is estimated at $31.6 million. These projections imply that instructing a substantial fraction of the 6 million people under correctional supervision in the United States would lead to savings in the tens of billions of dollars.