The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

Opposite is true

Contrary to the claims of iron-fist policing and draconian sentence- proponents, communities where policing is lighter and convictions are fewer have enjoyed far greater decreases in crime than otherwise identical communities where "tough on crime" reigns supreme.

The impact of the iron fist on prison towns is harsh. From Chowchilla to Tehachapi, new prisons have had one consistent effect: delivering the opposite of what their boosters promised.

First and foremost, prisons promised jobs, jobs, jobs. In Delano, the last of two dozen new prisons is scheduled to open later this spring. When Delano got its first prison in 1991, unemployment hovered at 26%. By 2000 the unemployment rate had risen to 29%. Or consider Corcoran, a small agricultural town with two prisons. After Californians had dropped an estimated $1 billion in prison construction and operation costs, 800 people lined up in the rain to apply for two entry-level positions.

It is hard to imagine getting less for our money.

But it's worse. On top of the false claim that prisons boost local economies, the claim that prisons are non-polluting is also dangerously misguided. Many prison employees live far from prison towns, meaning that Central Valley air quality deteriorates with each commute of 100 miles and more round trips to and from a workplace where workers disdain to live. Lousy air causes childhood asthma, reportedly affecting one in four kids in the south San Joaquin Valley.

Water quantity and quality also suffers. State prisons consume an average of more than 13 million gallons of Valley water every day. Water committed to agriculture produces crops, and water to neighborhoods produces healthy families. All investing water in prisons produces is sewage - and sometimes toxins.

A 2003 computer recycling facility fire at Atwater Federal Prison released dioxin, brominated flame retardants and potentially lead and mercury not just into the prison, but into the entire region. Yet prisons aren't governed by the same workplace and environmental standards as outside industry.

More than one Valley resident has called the region "The Other California." It did not boom during the go-go years of the 1990s, and education, health care and transportation budget cuts make Valley life ever more fragile. California's public schools, higher education system, rural district hospitals and human development agencies are being gutted to pay for prison after prison. It's up to all of us to redirect our resources and energy.

Shrinking system

Even George Deukmejian, who bore the moniker "Iron Duke" for his hard-on-crime stance as governor, sees the light. As chairman of last fall's independent review panel, he says we have to shrink the system. He says sentencing must be reformed.

What do we say? We can start with this: When the controversial Delano II prison opens after years of struggle by community organizations throughout the state, the region's disappointment in yet another boondoggle can also bring a golden opportunity.

We can forge a new public safety policy that actually makes us safe. We can make it clear that prisons have not been good to the Valley. We can work for real development options that will take a fraction of the cash thrown away on prisons to revitalize communities. We can, in short, uncage the Valley. And we can make sure they don't build any more.

At Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB), a statewide grass-roots organization, we are working to shift our limited public resources away from building more prisons and toward real solutions to improve our communities. On Feb. 27, we gathered more than 100 Valley residents to begin the process of making our vision a reality.

Joe Morales lives in Bakersfield and is a CURB commissioner and longtime Valley activist. Ruth Wilson Gilmore is president of the Central California Environmental Justice Network, a CURB commissioner and associate professor at University of Southern California. John Lum is a Sacramento-based CURB commissioner and former chief probation officer for San Luis Obispo County.

© 2005, The Fresno Bee