NCJ Number
172596
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 76 Issue: 4 Dated: December 1996 Pages: 461-467
Date Published
1996
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The "bull market" in corrections due to high-cost sentencing has had diverse benefits for various constituencies.
Abstract
America has experienced a tremendous "bull market" in corrections, as evidenced by tremendous growth in offender populations. Demand remains at an all-time high, and consumers stand ready to buy any and all prison construction schemes without concern for quality or value. Professional traders in the form of lobbyists and executives of prison-related industries have made huge profits, but returns for the average citizen have been mixed. Among the better known corrections companies, Wackenhut Corrections Corporation reported an 86-percent increase in third-quarter net income from 1994 to 1995, and Corrections Corporation of America experienced an 85-percent increase in net income over the same period. Further, boot camps have captured the imagination of investors, moving in a short time from an unknown, fledgling industry to a serious contender as the champion of intermediate sanctions. In contrast, returns for the average citizen in this "bull market" for corrections have been mixed, especially for stakeholders in big-investor States such as California, New York, and Texas, which have watched State balance sheets erode in a turbulent economic environment. Although crime rates are coming down, much of the decline can be attributed to the changing demographics of the Nation and the aging of the baby boom generation. The consequence of heavy investment in corrections by State governments has been a lessening of the availability of financial resources for education, health, and other social services. Fear and greed have become the dominant market forces driving State spending, and fear is rarely in short supply when dealing with crime. 1 reference