Price of Prisons

Happy Saturday,

I wanted to call attention to a new report from the Vera Institute, "Price of Prisons", released last week. It's imperative in pushing for reform that we keep in mind and remain knowledgable about the fiscal impact of the penal system. This is a well-done report.

Economics is an important angle we need to be versed in.

Putting aside my own political opinion for the moment, chatter about reforming the criminal justice system bouncing around the walls from the right side of the aisle is commonly motivated by calls for fiscal pinching amidst austere times. Reports like this one resonate in the minds of a constituency and political camp that declared rehabilitation a failure in the 70s, elevated to power via "tough on crime" election platforms, and have been recalcitrant to recognize the devastation caused to vulnerable populations caused by sweeping retributive justice.

It's great that the allies of "lock em up" are paying more attention to the waste of mass imprisonment, but there as we all know, the state of the world is in peril when discourse is only spoken in dollars. Cutting corners in correctional budgets is already a huge issue that deprives people in need of critical services. Success of a state's criminal justice apparatus measured solely in recidivism and dollars saved fails, in my opinion, to capture the true effect of its policies and philosophy. Public health outcomes can do more and offer a more accurate indication of the effect of justice policy and reform on the human condition.

People like Jeb Bush of Florida and bellicose fringe leader Newt are signatories to agendas for reform dressed in favorite points of any conservative's lexicon, For an example, see the Right on Crime principles. While we should recognize this as a sign of progress, we should not be satisfied. Many people on this list (so-called proponents of treatment) are also pushers of horrific policies like state-wide privatization of prisons (including health services)...so there is a threshold point where reform driven by efficiency tips the scales towards inhumanity. Let's not forget where people some conservatives (cough...cough....Jeb Bush) pushing for reform on the account of state coffers stand on many issues.

Money talks. That's a fact. Unfortunate sometimes, but a fact. But, so does population health-- conceptualized as more than "health care" as drilled in our heads at Mailman.

dhc