We Must Respond to Our Prison Alarms

In using prison to punish criminals we stand ahead of all nations except South Africa and the Soviet Union: Since 1980 our prison population has increased by more than 45%, and in the last decade corrections spending has tripled.

While we are very tough on crime, it is debatable whether the institutions that we use for punishment mirror the kind of civilization that we want to be.

Balancing our new toughness with a comparable level of civilization demands a public commitment, which has not been forthcoming. We need an informed public debate on the purpose of prisons and a new understanding of the resources required to make prisons work safely and efficiently.

Recently alarms have sounded in prisons across the country that suggest that our focus on toughness may be stretching well beyond our ability to maintain state corrections systems.

In Oklahoma, West Virginia, Massachusetts, Iowa and Indiana there have been prisoner revolts--some involving hostages and loss of life. Texas and California prisons continue to record alarmingly high levels of inmate deaths due to inmate violence. In Tennessee a local sheriff handcuffed offenders to a prison fence because, by court order, overcrowded state facilities were refusing new arrivals.

Prisons don’t fare well in the competition for public attention. Riots, hostage-taking, lawsuits or dramatic escapes briefly attract headlines. But generally the public attitude toward prisons falls somewhere between lack of interest and utter neglect. Attica, the New Mexico riots, lawsuits in Arkansas and Texas all sparked some attention to the basic question: How do we manage our prisons? Today’s conditions are dismal proof that we have yet to invest the will, energy and resources to define and operate the business of corrections.

An opportunity exists to call a halt to government failure to redefine the purpose of prisons in a manner that balances punishment, safety and effective management. Several steps warrant consideration:

First, clarify the purpose of prisons. What business are they in--punishment, public protection or treatment? While scholars and advocacy groups have the luxury of continuing the century-old debate about rehabilitation and punishment, state governments can’t afford to run prisons with numerous conflicting purposes. Why not adopt public protection as the primary purpose? Offenders should be in prison because of the risks that they pose to the community.

Next, clarify who is in prison, for how long and why. As many as 30% of state inmates pose a minimal threat to public safety. They are locked up for punishment. Failing to distinguish the dangerousness of murderers and rapists from forgers and car thieves confuses the public and wastes a limited valuable resource.

Then, clarify the purpose of spending billions on prison construction in response to overcrowding. Construction is needed, but the exorbitant cost demands more accountability about the space required, clear priorities about capital improvements and expansion, and maximum use of less costly punishment alternatives. This is a problem demanding public involvement. When California spends $1.1 billion on corrections construction, the business community listens and citizens wonder about the effect on taxes, the budget trade-offs and the limits to long-term debt.

If punishment is the goal--the suspension of liberty until the offender “pays” for the crime--there are proper methods other than incarceration. We should expand community-based punishment strategies.

Restitution, community service, house arrest, victim-offender reconciliation and more stringent probation and parole programs all fit the need. They are safe, tough and affordable. In Georgia, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, New Jersey and Massachusetts these strategies have begun to succeed. The challenge is to recognize the value of such programs and link them to a statutory policy of corrections management that governs prison space wisely and safely.

Finally, we must recognize the early warning signs. We are no longer dealing with a few states in need of help. Nationwide, our prison system is bursting at the seams. Most state prisons are well beyond the point at which they can provide basic security. By minimal professional standards, these institutions are overcrowded by as much as 60%.

Managing America’s prisons should no longer be left solely to the men and women who valiantly struggle to oversee their operation. The problem must be elevatedto a matter of major public concern. It will take intensive collaboration, honest analysis, sustained political commitment in an area of limited political gains, and a willingness to expand strategies that hold real promise.