The Prison Industrial Complex

Outline: Prison-Industrial Complex What is the Prison-Industrial Complex? Impact of the War on Drugs and Mandatory Minimums Ex-prisoner, Barry Joe, Re-entry to Society Corrections as an Arena for Profitable Enterprise: Private Prisons and Private Construction Reforming the Prison Industrial Complex 2

What is the Prison Industrial Complex? A profitable, tough on crime justice system with problems concerning: Racism Sexism Classism

Prison-Industrial Complex: Main Features/Players Similarities with military industrial complex -political,social, and economic gains -Mixture of public and private spheres Main players: privatized prisons/correctional institutions corporations contracting prison labor construction companies conservative politics

The War on Drugs and Mandatory Minimums SUB TOPIC #1 LUKE WALSH RYAN MARTINSON DEVIN GILBERT San Quentin Maximum security penitentiary 5

The War on Drugs Officially declared in the early 1980’s Contributions to prison expansion National Drug policies A shift in priorities: stronger focus on punitive objectives 6

The War On Drugs Augmentation of drug arrests 1980-2007 Disproportionate representation of African Americans Skyrocketing levels of incarceration Overpopulation 7

Federal Asset Forfeiture Seizure of assets, without due process Increased funding for the “drug scare” Increased drug related crimes 8

Anti Drug Abuse Acts Of 1986 And 1988 Created severe mandatory minimum sentencing laws for drug offenses -possession of 5 grams or more of crack cocaine carries a minimum of 5 years in prison Effects on federal sentencing guidelines Attacking the root cause, or the symptom? -Low level arrests versus high level in dealer hierarchy 9

From Prison to Society: Barry Joe’s Barriers Barry Joe’s Barriers: even though a non-violent ex-offender, he has difficulty finding employment,housing, and adequate health care. Barry Joe [interview] The profitable prison-industry in conjunction with the War on Drugs, mandatory minimum sentencing makes reformation a difficulty task.

Disparate Impacts Seth Olson Lucy Moore 11

White vs Non-White: Housing Urban centers vs Suburbs Government policies/FHA redlining Urban “renewal” Real estate practices/Restrictive covenants “Visible/Non-Visible Crime Creates not only less affluent non-whites who may be more desperate, but also makes it difficult to catch white users in private homes. Easier to see and catch offenders in super-dense environs. Creates cycle of instability, illicit activity, arrest, more cops, less stability, etc. 12

White v. Non-White: Punishment 1973: Rockefeller imposes harsher drug sentences 1981: Reagan’s “War on Drugs” and Military police style 1994: Wilson’s “3 Strikes” Law 1990’s: Clinton passes: Crime bill; Welfare Reform; Higher Ed Reform 13

5 grams crack or 500 grams cocaine=same sentence White vs Non-White 5 grams crack or 500 grams cocaine=same sentence 14

Disparate Incarceration Rates, by Race www.prisonpolicy.org/graphs/raceinc.html 15

Women and Children 50% imprisoned women HIV positive and addicted to drugs 1 in 109 women incarcerated, 1 in 50 disenfranchised due to conviction 53,000 foster care children with incarcerated mother 1 in 5 children witness mother’s arrest 16

Effects on Poorly Educated Employment rate: black HS dropouts: 1980: 66% 1999: 50% Including Prisoners: 1980: 55% 1999: 30% Decreased earning potential as they age 1999: white dropouts 1.5X more employed than black dropouts Including Prisoners: whites 2.5X more employed than blacks 17

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Sentencing And Incarceration Many drug offenders are disproportionately incarcerated based on certain categories Nearly 500,000 inmates are currently incarcerated for possession and or sale of drugs 19

Statistics Percentage of prisoners suffering from substance abuse: 53 % of state and federal prisons Percentage of those prisoners receiving treatment while incarcerated: State 40.3% Federal 48.6% 20

Corrections as a profitable enterprise Private prisons and private construction 21

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Prisons and the effect on local economies 21% of residents live in poverty Taxation issues Contributor to local economies/services? Use of prison labor versus local labor 23

Measure 11 Mandatory minimum sentencing for 21 criminal offenses Increases in operating costs Diminished cost-benefit ratio Financial impact on Oregon taxpayers 24

Business of Corrections/Growing prison populations 25252525 Spending increases on corrections New prisons being built Growing market for private business Prison population growth tied to lucrative business State Department of Corrections budget is growing 25

Reforming the Prison-Industrial Complex Jessica Marks, Rebbeccah Robinson

Government Budgeting Prison treatment programs Shift fiscal responsibilities from state to local government Community service programs 27

Treatment of non-violent offenders Drug & alcohol treatment Mental health treatment and job skills training

Individual Based Sentencing Reform parole practice Earned time & sentence reduction Eliminate mandatory minimums

Deprivatize the Prison System Give back authority to government Hold organizations liable for actions Public Safety and Justice Campaign 30

Preventing Crime Provide equal social opportunity One-Stop Rehabilitation Centers Expand Alternative Incarceration Program 31

Community Reentry Program