A forum for prison labor economic information sharing and debate.

Top “Right Now” Policy Actions

  • Wherever safety permits, avoid jerking people from jobs, families, and responsibilities.  Instead, structure introduction to the criminal justice system not only to avoid, but to reinforce (reward?) jobholding and meeting family and other responsibilities.

  • Within the bounds of  protecting safety, keep arrested persons “in” the community (preferably at home), obtaining or continuing gainful employment, and meeting family financial, parental, and other responsibilities.  Facilitate education, training, healthcare, and therapies as needed, provided by normal civilian entities, normally financed.

  • As safety permits, maximize in-home corrections or residences located (and with transportation) facilitating efficient access to jobs and in-community education, training, healthcare, therapies, and meeting family responsibilities – provided by normal civilian entities, normally financed.

  1. Modify “Arrest” to Preserve Employment, Fragile Families, and Financial Responsibility

  2. Preserve Employment and Financial Responsibility During Pretrial

  3. Build In-Community Corrections, Education, and Employment

  4. Maximize Work & Education Release

  5. Locate, Design, and Operate Prisons as Attractive Business Communities, and for child and family support

  6. Remove  (and enforce removal) of public and private barriers to education, training, and employments of all types

  7. Welcome & Facilitate Meeting Victim & Family Responsibilities

  • Prisons have no market advantages operating civilian businesses. Correctional institutions are really “towns” with intrinsic competitive advantages for some industries (and not others).  The objective of corrections is to make their towns maximally competitive locations for profit-seeking firms.  Prisons’ comparative advantages are in facilitating businesses, not operating them.  In contrast to current practices, prisons should be located near jobs, not away from them.  Further, rather than security at the cost of all else, the performance standards of secretaries of public safety, corrections directors, wardens, and corrections officers, chain-of-command, and staff must all call for and reward the economic success and responsibility of incarcerated persons, while preserving safety (Public officials and the public must also learn to tolerate reasonable risk in exchange for far greater crime reduction benefits).  And the institutions themselves need to be located, physically designed, and operated to utilize their many competitive advantages – not the least being various forms of security, ease of recruiting and hiring, retention, reduced distraction and absenteeism, and oftentimes skilled labor – making smoothly operated facilities not only competitive but superior for some businesses,  without subsidies or competing unfairly in the marketplace, but subject to all, and only, the same laws, rules, obligations, and protections of other civilian businesses and labor.  And incarcerated workers should be permitted equivalent membership in bargaining units on the same terms and shoulder-to-shoulder with civilians in production units of unionized businesses.  Specifically, organized labor should be welcomed for apprenticeship programs and some oversight of labor conditions within facilities.

    Connections and support to families during incarceration must be facilitated.  Specifically, when incarcerated persons are unable to be employed, child support orders need to be suspended, as well as interest accumulations on court costs, fines, and other corrections-imposed costs (eg sick call, board & room, etc.).  Although far from perfect and feebly pursued, the federally sanctioned PIE (Prison Industry Enhancement) program offers an excellent starting point for meeting broader victim and family responsibilities. Wherever possible, communication connections – especially including parenting – must be facilitated.

  • Invest in only the level of security required (Folks who are not a danger do not need heavily armed security) and then build security – including keeping inmates productively engaged and with motivations not to lose jobs – into the employment system.  Hiring for pay is a great motivator for good behavior for those working and those aspiring to work.  Work eliminates dangerous idleness.  Civilian workers and managers add stabilizing staff not at taxpayer expense.

  • Every Inmate is or can become  a successful employee or entrepreneur (with opportunity/insistence, structure, incentive, education, training, and experience).  No inmate subgroup  should be excluded. Additional Marketable Advantages include -Locations (near cities, transport, resources), Security (physical, cyber, communications), Support (recruiting & hiring, administration), Labor Force  Availability & Reliability

  1. Corrections as Host, Not Employer

  2. Build Security Around Employment

  3. Value your labor force (and other productive assets)

  4. Build Skills

  5. Efficiency Replaces Subsidy

  6. Compete Ruthlessly Fairly

  7. Reward Legitimate Stakeholders – and Gain Public Support

  1. Modify “Arrest” to Preserve Employment, Fragile Families, and Financial Responsibility: 

    Wherever safety permits, avoid jerking people from jobs, families, and responsibilities.  Instead, structure introduction to the criminal justice system not only to avoid, but to reinforce (reward?) jobholding and meeting family and other responsibilities.

  2. Preserve Employment and Financial Responsibility During Pretrial:

    Within the bounds of  protecting safety, keep arrested persons “in” the community (preferably at home), obtaining or continuing gainful employment, and meeting family financial, parental, and other responsibilities.  Facilitate education, training, healthcare, and therapies as needed, provided by normal civilian entities, normally financed.

  3. Build In-Community Corrections, Education, and Employment: 

    As safety permits, maximize in-home corrections or residences located (and with transportation) facilitating efficient access to jobs and in-community education, training, healthcare, therapies, and meeting family responsibilities – provided by normal civilian entities, normally financed.

  4. Maximize Work & Education Release: 

    To the extent safety requires incarceration in secure facilities, locate and operate prisons to maximize work release and access to jobs and services.

  5. Locate, Design, and Operate Prisons as Attractive Business Communities, and for child and family support: 

    Prisons’ comparative advantages are in facilitating businesses, not operating them.  In contrast to current practices, prisons should be located near jobs, not away from them.  Further, rather than security at the cost of all else, the performance standards of secretaries of public safety, corrections directors, wardens, and corrections officers, chain-of-command, and staff must all call for and reward the economic success and responsibility of incarcerated persons, while preserving safety (Public officials and the public must also learn to tolerate reasonable risk in exchange for far greater crime reduction benefits).  And the institutions themselves need to be located, physically designed, and operated to utilize their many competitive advantages – not the least being various forms of security, ease of recruiting and hiring, retention, reduced distraction and absenteeism, and oftentimes skilled labor – making smoothly operated facilities not only competitive but superior for some businesses,  without subsidies or competing unfairly in the marketplace, but subject to all, and only, the same laws, rules, obligations, and protections of other civilian businesses and labor.  And incarcerated workers should be permitted equivalent membership in bargaining units on the same terms and shoulder-to-shoulder with civilians in production units of unionized businesses.  Specifically, organized labor should be welcomed for apprenticeship programs and some oversight of labor conditions within facilities.

    Connections and support to families during incarceration must be facilitated.  Specifically, when incarcerated persons are unable to be employed, child support orders need to be suspended, as well as interest accumulations on court costs, fines, and other corrections-imposed costs (eg sick call, board & room, etc.).  Although far from perfect and insufficiently pursued, the federally sanctioned PIE (Prison Industry Enhancement) program offers an excellent starting point for meeting broader victim and family responsibilities. Wherever possible, communication connections – especially including parenting – must be facilitated.

  6. Remove  (and enforce removal) of public and private barriers to education, training, and employments of all types: 

    Except where clear and imminent occasions of repeating a crime preclude hiring, and especially after expiration of criminal sentences, barriers to education and employment must be reversed (perhaps with some oversight retained) and released persons welcomed back to successful legal productivity.  Removal of barriers should be led by public agencies; public monies should require both removal of barriers and proof of successful implementation by contracted entities and grantees, as well as for purchases from private firms.  All should be supported by publicly funded public education on welcoming returning offenders.

  7. Welcome & Facilitate Meeting Victim & Family Responsibilities:

    At all stages of the criminal justice process public policies and actions must be consistent with and facilitate restorative justice as well as mending fragile families, including but not limited to reasonable but meaningful victim restitution,  child support, and child rearing within mending families whenever possible. 

  1. Corrections as Host, Not Employer: Prisons have no market advantages operating civilian businesses. Correctional institutions are really “towns” with intrinsic competitive advantages for some industries (and not others).  The objective of corrections is to make their towns maximally competitive locations for profit-seeking firms.  Prisons’ comparative advantages are in facilitating businesses, not operating them.  In contrast to current practices, prisons should be located near jobs, not away from them.  Further, rather than security at the cost of all else, the performance standards of secretaries of public safety, corrections directors, wardens, and corrections officers, chain-of-command, and staff must all call for and reward the economic success and responsibility of incarcerated persons, while preserving safety (Public officials and the public must also learn to tolerate reasonable risk in exchange for far greater crime reduction benefits).  And the institutions themselves need to be located, physically designed, and operated to utilize their many competitive advantages – not the least being various forms of security, ease of recruiting and hiring, retention, reduced distraction and absenteeism, and oftentimes skilled labor – making smoothly operated facilities not only competitive but superior for some businesses,  without subsidies or competing unfairly in the marketplace, but subject to all, and only, the same laws, rules, obligations, and protections of other civilian businesses and labor.  And incarcerated workers should be permitted equivalent membership in bargaining units on the same terms and shoulder-to-shoulder with civilians in production units of unionized businesses.  Specifically, organized labor should be welcomed for apprenticeship programs and some oversight of labor conditions within facilities.

    Connections and support to families during incarceration must be facilitated.  Specifically, when incarcerated persons are unable to be employed, child support orders need to be suspended, as well as interest accumulations on court costs, fines, and other corrections-imposed costs (eg sick call, board & room, etc.).  Although far from perfect and feebly pursued, the federally sanctioned PIE (Prison Industry Enhancement) program offers an excellent starting point for meeting broader victim and family responsibilities. Wherever possible, communication connections – especially including parenting – must be facilitated.

  2. Build Security Around Employment:  Invest in only the level of security required (Folks who are not a danger do not need heavily armed security) and then build security – including keeping inmates productively engaged and with motivations not to lose jobs – into the employment system.  Hiring for pay is a great motivator for good behavior for those working and those aspiring to work.  Work eliminates dangerous idleness.  Civilian workers and managers add stabilizing staff not at taxpayer expense.

  3. Value your labor force (and other productive assets): Every Inmate is or can become  a successful employee or entrepreneur (with opportunity/insistence, structure, incentive, education, training, and experience).  No inmate subgroup  should be excluded. Additional Marketable Advantages include -Locations (near cities, transport, resources), Security (physical, cyber, communications), Support (recruiting & hiring, administration), Labor Force  Availability & Reliability

  4. Build Skills:  The Nation needs these workers.  Engage in rigorous “normalizing to     the market,”  supporting incarcerated workers with all and only those measures for which incarcerated workers are otherwise fully qualified, on the same terms, and by the same  civil organizations serving others, such as –

    • Education including post-secondary, by public and private providers (including IT)

    • Training by public and private providers, including union apprenticeship programs

  5.  Efficiency Replaces Subsidy:  Prisons traditionally squander time and people; “security” is too often an excuse.

    •  Clear and Efficient Marketing & Contracting

    •  8 hour work day/40 hr week/52 week year

    •  Efficient civilian and inmate movement

    •  Efficient Security

    •  Efficient materials movement

    • Clear, speedy, and efficient administration

  6. Compete Ruthlessly Fairly: Abandon for firms, civilian and incarcerated employees - all subsidies and privileges not equivalently available to civilian businesses and labor, adhering to all laws, regulations, and opportunities available to otherwise similar civilian businesses and labor, including welcoming organized labor and bargaining unit membership.  Similarly, take every advantage available to civilian business and labor.  Every subsidy you take or discrimination you reward will soon enough undermine your efforts in erosion of public trust and then elected official support and defeat your best efforts.  Strive for transparency and be willing to claim deserved competitive victories.

  7. Reward Legitimate Stakeholders – and Gain Public Support:  Pay -

    • All Normal Business & Labor Taxes

    • Health, Retirement, and Investments, as available to civilian workers

    • Fines, Assessments,  provide legitimate corrections revenue

    • Victim Restitution & Compensation

    • Child & Family Support (Court ordered+)

    • Savings

    • Publicly report benefits, including civilian business growth, employment, and purchases within the community