NCJ Number
143536
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 21 Issue: 2 Dated: (1993) Pages: 117-130
Date Published
1993
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Although the U.S. prison population has risen 135 percent since 1980, and most States face record budget deficits and cuts, reliable sources estimate that 10 percent or less of incarcerated offenders work in prison industrial programs.
Abstract
The authors present a 3-pronged argument for full prisoner employment, using utilitarian, habilitative, and humanitarian arguments for expanding current prison work programs. Improvement and expansion of inmate employment would remedy much of the financial problems of correctional facilities and affect the aggregate economic welfare of host States. This effort would also enhance the stability and atmosphere of the institutional environment, provide inmates with the skills and discipline necessary to work on the outside. In addition, employment would offer useful and productive activities to inmates incarcerated for long periods of time. Although there are practical, economic, and social obstacles to be overcome in employing prisoners, prison industry expansion during the 1980's involved three major components: the Federal Free Venture initiative, the reentry of the private sector into corrections, and the renewal of interest in contracting for prison labor. 1 table, 14 notes, and 27 references