NCJ Number
100194
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 65 Issue: 2 Dated: (Autumn-Winter 1985) Pages: 108-121
Date Published
1985
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This paper describes how a correctional facility would operate if it operated along libertarian principles and limited its penal functions to keeping inmates under intensive surveillance and preventing them from leaving the prison.
Abstract
Camps for prisoners of war as well as current prisons have shown that informal economies operate in these settings. Operating a prison on the basis of permission rather than prohibition would soon result in a flourishing economy. Inmates would be subject only to the legal codes applicable to citizens outside the prison. They could have unlimited visits and communication from the outside and could choose whether or not to work, for whom to work, and whether to become an entrepreneur. They would have to pay for their room, board, and security would have to pay for their room, board, and security supervision and would make restitution to their victims. Investments, the use of money, unions, and other features of market economies would occur within the prison. Force would be used only to administer the law. Cooperation and creativity rather than force and cunning would be the most desirable characteristics. Inmates would not have physical liberty, but they would be able to realize their potential for excellence, have their material wants met, and be better prepared for life after prison. Management and control of the institution would also be simpler. Such a system would probably have to be phased in over a period of years and would require a change in the thinking of correctional officials. Footnotes and 8 references.