The Prison Industrial Complex : How Do We Define It?

“A set of bureaucratic, political, and economic interests that encourage increased spending on imprisonment, regardless of the actual need. The prison-industrial complex is not a conspiracy, guiding the nation’s criminal-justice policy behind closed doors. It is composed of politicians, both liberal and conservative, who have used the fear of crime to gain votes; impoverished rural areas where prisons have become a cornerstone of economic development; private companies that regard the roughly $35 billion spent each year on corrections not as a burden on American taxpayers but as a lucrative market. An interweaving of private business and government interests. (Aviram

The U.S prison population rose by 700% from 1970 to 2005. A rate far outpacing that of general population growth and crime rates.

The United States spends nearly $81 billion per year on corrections, but where is this money coming from, where is it going, and is it actually reducing crime rates? Crime rates in the United States have fallen since 1991 and murder rates have also fallen by half in last 25 years, however the prison population has increased by 500% in the last 40 years. Increase in the number of incarcerated citizens also lead to an increase in new prisons around the country and also the crippling of the american justice system. As the author of Wages of Rebellion describes, the prison-industrial-system as the most

Traditionally, there have been four justifications for punishment: deterrence, confinement, rehabilitation and retribution. While these methods can be flawed at some point in history they served as primary reasons for the justification of punishment. Recently, there has been an epistemic shift in thinking about punishment where now it is focused on retribution and incarceration. The emphasis on this method has lead to an increase in incarceration and the rise of a prison system. While we acknowledge that there will always be a need for society to punish criminals in order to protect the rights of individuals, however a prison/prison system is not the correct way to handle such problems. Currently the prison system is being used an economic tool for private companies to exploit cheap labor from inmates. Known as the prison-industrial complex private enterprises are now able to build more prisons to “benefit” society and themselves as the prison population grows. Since the 1980’s the growth in prison

The Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) is an organization which over the past few decades has grown tremendously in the United States. This political cartoon showcases how our societies are transitioning from dependence on the Public Education system to the dependence on the Prison Industrial Complex and how the people who are funding these corporate businesses are less focused on bettering of the community but are primarily money hungry. My close analysis of this image reveals how the prison industrial complex negatively affects our communities yet is beneficial to the people and corporations who operate them.

Whenever you imagine prison, you think up ideas and violent images that you have seen in the movies or on TV.   Outdated clichés consisting of men eating stale bread and drinking dirty water are only a small fraction of the number of horrible, yet “just” occurrences which are stereotypical of everyday life in prison.   Perhaps it could be a combination of your upbringing, horrific ideas about the punishment which our nation inflicts on those who violate its’ more serious laws that keeps people frightened just enough to lead a law-abiding life. Despite it’s success in keeping dangerous offenders off the streets, the American prison system fails in fulfilling its original design of restoring criminals to being productive members of society, it is also extremely expensive and wastes our precious tax dollars.

currently has the highest imprisonment rate per capita of any country in the world, and although we have about four percent of the global population, we have twenty-two percent of all prisoners. However, it has not always been this way; as only three decades ago our prison population was one eighth of its current size. This unparalleled growth of the prison system has forced America to create a vast prison industry that has become increasingly reliant on private capital. This prison industrial complex has not only turned imprisonment into a profitable business but also reinforced racial disparities in America. The argument that capitalism in this context undermines our democratic values rests of three key points: Firstly, that drug enforcement is racially biased, secondly that private capital has become enmeshed in incarceration industry and thirdly that prison labor is becoming increasingly connected to the United States Economy.

More people have been locked up in the United States than any other country. In the article “Prison Industrial Complex Economics”, it states, “the United States has approximately 6.5 million people under the criminal justice supervision. Incarcerated rate has grown from 176 in 1973 up to 700 in the year of 2000” (Waquant). Incarceration is a big business that feeds into drug violence, corrupted guards, and racism in criminal justice system, taxpayer cost, and racism in the criminal system and through privatization of prisons.

Crime rates are down in America, yet there is an unproportionately large number of Americans incarcerated. This paper will delve into and examine this problem and how it is closely linked to private prisons and the issues surrounding them. While private prisons claim to be cost effective and well-run, evidence has shown that these profit-driven companies ignore ethical consequences by purposefully lengthening prisoners’ sentences, target certain groups for incarceration and maintain despicable living standards for the prisoners; ultimately, these prisons have caused more harm than good for the state.

What is the prison industrial complex? In what way does it play in the existence of what Dr. Michelle Alexander calls the New Jim Crow?

The Prison Industrial Complex can be described as a contract or lease from a private corporation that allows them to contract convict labor. The government argues that they are merely converting public tax money when in reality it has only provided profit for private corporations. It serves two purposes. The first is

“One out of every 31 Americans (7 Million) are in prison, jail, or some other form of correctional supervision. A high incarceration rate in the United States has led to the prison-industrial complex, which has provided jobs and profits to legions of companies and people. The field of corrections is big business.”1 I believe that this fact is the best way in which to start my paper. The main idea of corrections, as the name suggests, is to correct the behavior that has caused an offender to stray from the straight and narrow. However, as our prison population grows and recidivism rates increase we are not only seeing our prison system fail, but we are seeing a new and emerging industry take hold in this country. Increasing prison populations and the number of re-offenders is showing a relatively obvious failure of the current system. In my time as a criminal justice major I have taken a variety of classes on criminal justice, one of the most interesting for me (aside from this class) was restorative justice. In my restorative justice class I was introduced to the idea that the criminal justice system was taking the conflict away from the victim and the community and was focusing too much on punishment and not enough on rehabilitation. I understand that some people feel that restorative justice is too lenient, that by allowing offenders to bypass jail restorative justice gives them a pass and allows them to basically get away with an offense, however restorative

Prisons and jails hold some similar characteristics but are completely different models in which they serve in the criminal justice system. Some of the types of crimes that America faces today are: violent crimes, property, white collar or organized crime, and public order crimes (Worrall, 2008). The criminal justice system sets the regulations and policies of how an offender will be held accountable for their inappropriate actions. The criminal justice system is a process that takes time and money from society. The following information will briefly discuss the main purposes for the jail and prison systems, which will focus on the length of sentencing, funding sources, and private sector ownership. Let’s begin by explaining the length of

While sentences may be harsh for drug users, what about drug pushers? One cannot say that people who choose to sell drugs should not be behind bars for extended periods of times. These criminals pray on children and the vulnerable to profit off of the addiction of others. These sentencing laws are a necessary evil, to protect the citizens of the United States. Housing criminals in private prisons is a way to break even, or possibly profit, from their crimes. According to Thierry Godard, writer for Smart Asset, “Private companies, forced to compete with state government prices and one another for contracts, can provide correctional services more efficiently than the government itself can” (Godard). This collaboration between government and corporations allows for an exchange of ideas that would be lost otherwise. The burden of competently and efficiently running prisons does not have to fall solely on the shoulders of the government, these companies are supplying a needed service. Private prisons are bolstering the economy, by supplying labor for the creation of goods. If private companies take over, the amount that the common person pays in taxes will go down, because prisons will be more efficient. Even so, there are people working towards prison reformation, in favor of privatization of parole as another revenue stream, bolstering the economy in similar ways to the privatization of prisons. For example ALEC, the American Legislation Exchange Council, is one of these groups that is trying to pass legislation for the welfare of the people. According to Michael Hough, Maryland senator, “Seventy-seven percent of those convicted of drug offenses are rearrested within five years of their release” (Hough). By allowing these users back on the streets the U.S. is promoting drug trafficking and use. The U.S. should privatize parole, allowing for economic growth

Currently, many prisons are beginning to be run by private corporations. If a company is running a prison then they need prisoners to stay in business. Around 1 in every 107 Americans is currently being housed in a prison. The United States has about 5 percent of the world’s population yet 25 percent of its prisoners(ACA, 2008). This is the easiest way to maintain a large prison population is by maintaining the current drug war. The largest private prison company in the United States is Corrections Corp. of America(ACA, 2008). In the last twenty years, CCA has donated nearly $5 million dollars to certain political