NCJ Number
173926
Date Published
1996
Length
33 pages
Annotation
Despite public consensus that prison inmates should be gainfully employed, most are idle and fewer than 2,000 prisoners nationwide are employed by private enterprises.
Abstract
Prisons employ inmates to make such products as office furniture and license plates and to grow food for inmate consumption, but prisons have jobs for no more than half of those imprisoned. Providing access to productive jobs in the labor market for State and Federal prison populations and reducing the burden of their upkeep on taxpayers require removing legal limitations on work by prisoners, as well as involving the private sector in creating productive jobs and improving the productivity of prisoner workers and the quality of their work. If 1 in 4 prisoners were put to work for private enterprise over the next 5 to 10 years, during which time the prison population is projected to increase to 1.6 million, that could mean 400,000 new prison jobs. Allocating 60 percent of prisoner earnings to taxpayer compensation could reduce taxpayer costs by $2.4 billion per year, or somewhat less than 10 percent of the total cost of prison support. Further, such an approach could increase the possibility of obtaining restitution for crime victims. In 1979, Congress relaxed some strictures by passing the Percy Amendment. This amendment created the Private Sector/Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program, better known as the PIE program, which allows private companies to employ prison labor under very strict conditions. Since 1979, the PIE program has certified 37 jurisdictions to engage in joint ventures with private companies to employ inmates. The PIE program has generated gross earnings of $63 million for inmates, including room and board payments of $13 million. The author concludes that the advantages of private employment of prisoners far outweigh the disadvantages and that expanding the private sector role in prison work will reduce crime, increase economic growth, and reduce the burden of the criminal justice system on taxpayers. 86 notes and 1 table