The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

I thought so the other day when I read a story out of Graceville quoting a town official saying "It's a dream come true'' at the groundbreaking ceremony for a new 1,500-bed state prison -- a boon for the community for its $13 million annual payroll supporting 300 or more new jobs, but a state-budget debit at $70 million construction cost.

I thought so again when I heard of Northwest Florida counties' crunches concerning jail accommodations. Walton County is adding a 254-bed pod to a 330-bed new jail before it's even completed, responding double-time to overcrowding of its DeFuniak Springs jail, where 210 inmates are routinely squeezed into space designed for 101. Meanwhile, Okaloosa County's 594-bed jail at Crestview commonly houses 800 inmates per day and Escambia County's jail population is exceeding jail capacity by some 300.

Who are all these "bad'' people, I wondered? Statistics show that about half of offenses stem from illegal use, or bad judgment, regarding drugs and alcohol. And some one-third of Florida jail guests are repeat customers; for example, a 2003 study from Florida Department of Corrections showed 38 percent of recently released male prisoners were re-imprisoned within five years.

That's really scary is that it's becoming so easy to get an upsidedown view when it comes to locking people up, leading citizens to conclude prisons solve all problems and are a boon besides -- as in the case of the Graceville economic development event. Actually, lots of seemingly good news isn't. To wit: There was a hilarious story in the Wall Street Journal the other day about how young perpetrators are being easily caught because they lose their pants when they try to run. Sad side: It is prisons' beltless regimen that's set the fashion these young perps, and others, are following.

Another story recently reported that a Girl Scout troop in Ohio is meeting monthly inside the nearby prison so members can bond with their fathers. Does that mean imprisonment is going a tiny bit mainstream? How tragic.

Fact: At year-end 2004, nearly 7 million people, 1 of every 31 adults in America, were in jail or prison, or on probation or parole.

What prisons often are inappropriately becoming is big business: jobs, profit, an entrenched industry. A growing number are being turned over to private contractors. At Graceville, prison construction and management will be handled by GEO Group, which, along with Corrections Corp. of America was slammed last year by a Florida audit which found the companies, which run five state prisons, were overpaid by some $13 million.

And where's the incentive for Big-House businesses to promote rehabilitation, to teach marketable skills, to discourage repeat customers? (Crime college, anyone?)

Fact: the U.S. percentage of imprisoned people -- 1 of every 138 -- is higher than for any other country on earth. (Annual lock-up cost: $35 billion.) In Florida ($2.6 billion current annual tab) — the prison population is expected to increase from 88,000 to more than 94,000 by May 2008.

Some prisons are certainly needed. Long view: More is not better.
http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060629/BUSINESS/606290312/1003