NCJ Number
103934
Date Published
1986
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Private-sector involvement in prison industry work programs is reviewed at both the Federal and State levels.
Abstract
In 1934, Federal Prison Industries, Inc., was established by Congress as a self-sustaining corporation designed to keep inmates constructively employed and provide job training. The program is a traditional state-use industry, employing inmates in Government-owned and-operated factories. Inmates are paid token wages, and sales are limited to Federal agencies. All 50 States have prison industry programs. Their products and services are usually sold to State and local governments and nonprofit organizations. While historically, the achievement of correctional purposes (e.g., penitence, rehabilitation) have defined the role of work in prisons, the 1979 Prison Enhancement Program changed the of constructive work in its own right, aside from any correctional goal or philosophy. Likewise, there is a growing body of thought that the incarcerated offenders should pay as high an economic portion as possible of their incarceration and for the social damages ancillary to their imprisonment. Finally, there is growing recognition that private enterprise can assist in prison management while pursuing its own profitmaking goals. As such programs continue and expand, correctional institutions may come closer to being self-supporting while also providing a means for vocational training, reparation, and rehabilitation. 21 notes and references.