Help inmates get well. Reduce cost of Prisons.
By David Palmer
It is a shocking fact that one out of a hundred Americans is in prison.
Some of these inmates, regrettably, are truly bad people and should stay in prison. For the rest, we can, first, do a better job dealing with the drug addictions implicated in 80% of the cases, second, prepare them better to find work on the outside and, third, overcome the bureaucratic confusion on sentencing.
On Christmas Day, under the headline, “the Steep Cost of Americas high incarceration rate, the Wall Street Journal published a column addressing this very issue. “America’s over reliance on incarceration,” it said, “is exacting excessive costs on individuals and communities as well as on the national economy. Sentences are too long, and parole and probation policies too inflexible. There is too little rehabilitation in prison and inadequate support of life after prison.
“The time has come to make sensible reform in sentencing, parole, rehabilitation and re-entry, a national priority.” The column, which was written by former Treasury Secretary, Robert E. Rubin, and Nicholas Turner, director of the criminal justice institute, went on to say, “this is not only a serious humanitarian and social issue, but one with profound economic and fiscal consequences.
“In an increasingly competitive global economy, equipping Americans for the modern workforce is an economic imperative. Excessive incarceration harms productivity. People in prison are people who aren’t working. And without effective rehabilitation, many are ill-equipped to work after release.”
This year Arkansas legislators are taking a hard look at the state’s overloaded prison system. In previous sessions, they have tried to ease the strain by reducing the time of non-violent drug offenders sentenced to prison. The problem is that, too many times, a drug user is a violent offense waiting to happen. Similarly, parolees previously labeled “non violent” have been paroled only to then commit violent crimes.
In 2014, renewed scrutiny of Arkansas parole and probation led to more parolees being sent back to prison for technical violations. The result? Overcrowded prisons. Arkansas’s new Governor, Republican Asa Hutchinson, is calling for tax cuts, better management and solutions beyond building another prison. Recidivism and parole will be the top subjects on his list. When it comes to recidivism, Hutchinson will be looking at what rehabilitative tools are available and how are any lasting effects measured. He will probably find that programs are shallow, poorly managed, scarcely available and neglected. From talking to inmates, the prevailing opinion is likely to be that a complete overhaul of the Department of Corrections rehabilitation system is needed. Over the years, I have had a chance to interview some of the inmates about prison life and opportunities for changes that would reduce high recidivism rates. These are some of the salient points that emerged:
1. The prison discipline system is weighed down with a focus on trivial issues while more serious issues involving rehabilitation accountability often go unchecked.
2. Unlawful behavior in prison includes trafficking drugs and contraband, making alcohol and committing violent and sexual offenses.Inmates often form destructive ideologies and partnerships in prison. In this culture, the penitentiary becomes a type of training ground for criminals.
3. Prison alone offers no clear incentive for an inmate to take a serious inventory of his behavior and do something about it. A history of discipline problems should delay parole and a clean record should enhance parole, but today this is not the case.
4. Prison is an installment welfare plan for those who refuse to make tough choices the rest have to learn in order to survive.
5. The history of the Arkansas Department of Correction is one oftoomuch emphasis on the Department’s responsibility to rehabilitate inmates, when, in fact, the responsibility should lie with the offender.
6. As noted, “warehousing” prisoners, holding prisoners without seriously evaluating what is happening while they are being”stored”doesn’t work. Indeed, the public should expect that the product of prison carry with it a “warranty” to the effect that prison has proactively sought to rehabilitate inmates and reduce substantially the likelihood they will offend again.
7. The ADC mission does provide for some religious, spiritual, and physical opportunities, but other than these areas, it does not offer true rehabilitative accountability. And while it should not be accountable for responsibilities that belong to prisoners, it should have policies that encourage prisoner accountability.
8. Through discipline policy, theDepartment must play a more effective role in promoting prisoner accountability. Under current conditions, bad behavior often goes unpunished, and good behavior often goes unrewarded.
9. Much of the post-prison system focuses on monitoring a parolee’s progress inhopes that the watchful eye of the office of parole will prevent criminal behavior. It is not enough. The account of a prisoner’s behavior must start from the moment he enters the system, and there must be serious consequences for infractions of rules. This is where improvement is non-negotiable – getting the attention of the offender while he is in prison, and there is no better place than his parole eligibility.
10. The most obvious way to deal with prisoner accountability is to reformthereward/punishment system of “Meritorious Good Time” and the effect that it has ona prisoner’sreleasedate.”Goodtime”isawardedtoprisonerstowardsanearlier release for good behavior.
11. For some prisoners, good timeis gained too easily, while others cannot earn it at all. When institutional infractions do not significantly alter parole eligibility, there is little incentive to change. For these inmates,prison is more on the job training for a way of life they have no intention of walking away from. Without major changes many will commit crimes after release.
12. Continued drug abuse and inadequate preparation for finding work on the outside are the major cause of recidivism and should be a top priority. Entrepreneurial programs such as the established PEP program at the Cleveland prison in Texas and the new “First Principles of Entrepreneurship” class for prison inmates at the inner city’s Scott Ford Center at Arkansas Baptist College.
13. In Arkansas, the 1995 law removing incentives for good behavior for violent offenders, those who are in greatest need of rehabilitation, should be restored. These prisoners need every tool available for positive behavior reinforcement.
The time has come. Let us undertake more aggressive reform in four areas—sentencing, parole, rehabilitation and re-entry.
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