Because while the system causes great suffering for incarcerated people, their families, and their communities, there are others who think it’s working just fine. That’s a lot of money to spend on something that doesn’t work.īut maybe it’s all just a matter of how you look at it. They issued a report in 2017 concluding that our country spends about $182 billion on locking people up. The Prison Policy Initiative has studied mass incarceration from every angle for almost 20 years. In fact, between 20, 35 states cut crime and their incarceration rate simultaneously-so much for the argument that throwing people in jail and prison is the only way to keep our communities safe. Companies like Corizon, which is raking in $1.4 billion every year, are profiting from sick prisoners, despite having a dismal track record when it comes to making sure they get well again.Let’s be extra clear: Mass incarceration doesn’t work. From the perspective of profiteering, however, things seem to be going pretty well. Well, that’s true if you look at how effectively it tends to the health of people behind bars. The jail and prison healthcare system is a giant mess. ![]() The money keeps coming in even when they do a terrible job. As for prison food, companies like Aramark make millions of dollars in profits supplying meals to about 600 prisons. Prisoners earn so little behind bars that families often have to send money to make up the difference. There’s no such thing as shopping around for the best price when you’re incarcerated, so inmates have no choice but to buy what’s in stock at whatever price is listed (which could be much much higher than what you’d pay in stores). Supplying items like food, beverages, and hygiene products to prison or jail commissaries is a lucrative business, bringing in at least $1.6 billion across the country every year. At these sky-high prices, low-income families often have to decide between talking to their loved ones and paying their bills. ![]() Charging more than $1 a minute is common, with some states seeing prices approach $25 for only a 15-minute call. While telecom companies love this arrangement, which has helped push the value of the entire industry to around $1.2 billion, it runs up costs on incarcerated people and their families. But when it comes to prison phone companies, monopolies are standard operating procedure. Monopolies have long been considered a big no-no in business. The industry, of course, works hard to thwart reforms. The bail bond industry collects about $1.4 billion in nonrefundable fees every year, driving many families deeper into poverty. Low-income defendants and their families often turn to a bail bondsman, who can pay the full bail amount once they receive a nonrefundable fee. And most of those people are in jail only because they can’t afford bail. Most of the increase in incarceration has occurred in pre-trial detention-locking up legally innocent people as they await trial. Let’s take a look at a few of the industries that are benefiting from other people’s misery.Īs America’s prison population has grown, so has the bail-bond industry-it now pulls in about $3 billion in profits every year. ![]() But the bottom line is that locking lots of people up is making lots of money for lots of businesses, so change will not be easy. A wave of newly elected prosecutors and even many police chiefs also support reform. Politicians are coming around to the same idea. It’s no surprise, then, that these businesses spend so much on lobbying lawmakers to support policies that will keep prison populations high.Īn overwhelming majority of Americans of all political affiliations and backgrounds believe that we need to reform the criminal justice system. Private businesses that provide services (like food and healthcare, for example) to prisons and jails are making billions of dollars from mass incarceration-which sounds to us like a very strong incentive for them to make sure that millions of Americans keep getting locked up. ![]() Let’s be extra clear: Mass incarceration doesn’t work.
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