Do Prisons Work?
Sean Allan, Jordie Boyle, Quinn Connolly, Austin Gabriel, and Chris Yak
Guiding Questions
1. Who should be in charge of running and organizing the
prison system of the US or any country?
2. What types of prison/rehabilitation facilities are most
effective?
3. In what cases is it acceptable to substitute going to a
rehabilitation facility rather than serving time in prison?
4. Is the American prison system cost effective? If not,
how could the system be changed to be more cost
effective?
Your Opinions
Survey Results
● Is the current US prison system effective?
o 73% No
o 23% Yes
o 4% Other
What is the American Penal
System?
What Is the American Prison
System?
-Conviction
-Jails v.s. Prisons
-“Closed” system
-Solitary confinement
-Average cell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhEOLLi7DTk&spfreload=1
-Work/Behavior/Recreation
-Capital Punishment
American System (continued)
-The amount of violence in the nation has
gone down, but the amount of arrests have
increased.
-52% recidivism rate in US
-1 in every 108 Americans are in prison
Privatization of the
American Prison System
For-Profit Prison Industry
● Became popular in 1980s
● $70 billion industry
● 2 Largest Companies:
o Correctional Corporation of
America (CCA)
o Wackenhut
● In 2013, private prisons held 8% of
prison population
o 133,000 prisoners
“Lockup Quotas”
● What is it?
o A prison occupancy rate guarantee
● How many private prisons have these “lockup quotas” in their contracts?
o 65% of private prisons
● 90% occupancy is the most common lockup quota
● 3 Arizona prisons have 100% occupancy rate guarantees
What do these “lockup quotas”
mean?
● If a prison is not at or above the guaranteed
occupancy rate, the government must pay for the
empty beds
o This money comes from taxpayers
● If the rate of incarceration goes down, private
prisons still get the same amount of money from the
government.
● Incentive to throw more people in jail and lengthen
sentences
How They Increase Profits
Low Operating Costs
● Russell Boraas is a private prison administrator in Virginia
o “the secret to low operating costs is having a minimal number of
guards for the maximum number of prisoners”
● CCA Prison in Lawrenceville, VA
o 750 prisoners
o 5 daytime guards
o 2 nightwatch guards
How They Increase Profits
Behavior Policy
●
●
What is the “Behavior Policy?”
o Good behavior = reduced sentence
o Infraction = 30 days added to sentence
New Mexico Prisons
o CCA inmates lost “good behavior time” at a rate 8x higher than inmates in state prisons
o More time in prison = more money for private prisons
How They Increase Profits
Prison Labor
● Prisoners work 6-8 hour days
● Wages
o Many are unpaid
o Others receive $0.93-$4.73 per day
Rehabilitation in Prisons
Stress
● “For some prisoners, incarceration is so stark and psychologically painful
that it represents a form of traumatic stress severe enough to produce
post-traumatic stress reactions once released. “ Craig Haney University Of
California Santa Cruz
● What exactly is stress doing to the human body?
Conforming To This Change
● Neuroplasticity can be defined as the process by which the brain produces
more morphological changes in response to environmental stimuli.
● When the brain is in a new environment it will change and conform to this
new environment.
● Negative neuroplasticity can come from mood disorders, poor sleep,
anxiety, and stress. This negative neuroplasticity will result in the brain
shrinking, and becoming less efficient over time.
● Long term effects of incarceration can cause brain conformation that is
adapted to prison norms.
Forms of Rehabilitation
● Laughter in prisons
● Guidance in education and work
Laughter
● Emotional Release, helps get rid of anger
● Improves health and reduces stress
● Decreases depression and psychological problems
Education Rehabilitation
● California Rehabilitation- example Johnny Ames
● Houses of Healing
● The Prison Education Project
International Prisons
● Norwegian Prisons
○ An “open” Prison system
○ Emphasizes Rehabilitation
● Chinese Prisons
○ Makes citizens want to avoid prisons more
○ Emphasizes justice
Norwegian “Open” Prisons
●
●
●
●
-Open Prisons
-Luxuries
-Rehabilitation
-The Norden
Norwegian Prisons (cont)
● Successes of the “open” prison system
● Prison population has dropped since the implementation of this
system
○ 1950 - 200 prisoners per 100,000 citizens
○ 2004 - 65 prisoners per 100,000 citizens
● Recidivism rate is only 20%
● One of the most successful systems in the world
Chinese Prison System
● Has a heavy emphasis on justice
○ People should pay for their crimes
○ Is a more preventative approach to criminal activity
○ Executes 5000 - 6000 a year
Chinese System Results
● The Chinese system’s results
○ In China there are 119 prisoners for every 100,000 prisoners
○ It has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the world
■ Generally around 6-8%
○ New legislation has reduced the number of executions a year
■ Before 2007 may have been as high as 20,000 people a
year
Comparing the Systems
USA
China
Norway
2,217,000
1,657,812
3,842
Prisoners/100,0 698
00 citizens
119
75
Executions
42
5000-6000
Abolished in
1979
Recidivism
Rate
52%
6 - 8%
20%
Prison
Population
Cost of Prisons
What do you think is the
average cost of an inmate per
year in the US ?
US Prisons Cost
All data according to Vera Institute of Justice
● A cumulative of $39 billion were spent in the 2010 fiscal year for 40 states
to run their prisons
● Average of the 40 states taxpayers pay $31,286 per inmate in 2010
● Highest paying state is New York at $60,076 per inmate
● Lowest paying state is Kentucky at $14,603 per inmate
● Washington payed $46,897 per imated
Spending of Prisons Money
LA Times breakdown of how Prisons spend money in California
● California spends $43,421 a year per inmate
● 50% of the money goes to security
● 5% toward teaching inmates to read and other rehabilitation tools
● 45% towards everyday materials
● In California the state pays about $15,000 per student at state schools
● California minimum wage worker make $18,720 per year
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/14/states-spend-times-incarcerating-educating-studies-say-464156987/
Rehabilitation
“People come back. Over 90% of these inmates come back to
communities...And we can do a better job.” Aarriet Salarno, President of
Crime Victims United of California.
Rehabilitation
● Rehabilitation experts think California should give prisoners and parolees
incentives
● Paying prisoners and parolees 8 to 95 cents and hour
● Lafayette Parish Sheriff Mike Neustrom devoted $2.5 million of his annual
salary
● “The bottom line is, most of them are going to come back to Lafayette--it’s
where they grew up. If they’re better when they come back, that’s good.
That’s the intent.” Mike Neustrom Louisiana Sheriff
● In San Francisco a re-education program saved taxpayers $4 for every $1
spent
Project Return
Project Return was ran by Tulane University in the late 90’s
● It was ran by and for ex-cons
o 100 people every year. 50 girls and 50 men each year
● Cost $2,000 per person for Tulane
● They helped with
o Education
o Counseling
o Job Placement Assistance
● 5.6% recidivism rate to prison
● They get $2.50 a day for going to work
Halden in Norway
It cost Norway £116,000 per year to house an inmate
● $125,089.76 in US dollars
● They get payed £5.60 ($6.40) a day for working
● They get £70 ($75.49) each month for food
● The recidivism rate is 20%
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