NCJ Number
136703
Date Published
1992
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This video portrays the history, content, and benefits of the Prison Industries Enhancement (PIE) Certification Program.
Abstract
The PIE program was originally authorized in 1979, revised in 1984 under the Justice Assistance Act, and amended again in the Crime Control Act of 1990. PIE provides limited deregulation of Federal prohibitions affecting the movement of State prisoner- made goods in interstate commerce and the contracting in excess of $10,000 with the Federal Government. The basis of the program includes the involvement of the private sector in the industry and the payment of prevailing or minimum wage to the offender. The program is managed by the U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Assistance through technical assistance provided by the American Correctional Association. This video uses charts to show the program's history and structure, accompanied by narrator explanations. Inmates working in various industries are also portrayed. Corrections administrators at the State and Federal levels, as well as inmates involved in the PIE program, comment on the benefits of the program. A chart accompanied by narrator explanations specifies the benefits accruing to taxpayers, crime victims, corrections, industry, labor, and inmates. A booklet on the program accompanies the video.