Michigan and Florida studies focusing on State correctional facilities' impact on community crime rates concluded that escapees leave the immediate area of the facility as soon as possible and do not therefore significantly increase the community's crime rate. Crimes by visitors to the prisons were also found to be insignificant. A study of seven correctional facilities across the Nation yielded similar results on crime rates. Wisconsin, Michigan, and Florida studies as well as a survey of seven prisons nationwide determined that although property values may be affected negatively over the short term in prison communities, over the long term property values are more significantly affected by other factors. Studies in California, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and Michigan as well as a nationwide study indicate prisons do not have a significant negative economic impact on the communities in which they are sited, and in some cases the employment of local residents by the prisons fuels the local economy. 12 references.