Article Review: “Prisons, Privatization, Patronage”
Article Review: “Prisons, Privatization, Patronage”
Summary: The article, “Prisons, Privatization, Patronage,” by Paul Krugman aimed to expose the indecency and lies growing within the prison system, beginning with halfway houses in New Jersey . Typically, halfway homes are advertised as a place for prisoners in rehabilitation to find sanctuary as they adjust to the outside world. They are shown as refuges that offer resources for individuals. The New York Times’ investigation however exposed halfway homes in New Jersey to be riddled with underpaid, overwhelmed staff, as well as dangerous inhabitants that did no service for one another. If anything, the investigation revealed that halfway homes did more harm than good .
Krugman’s article went on to expose the privatization of prisons . Basically, institutions like prisons and schools are not operating on the free market; they rely on government funding which segregates them to the private sector. If the government were not becoming a corrupt institution, this format would be okay. Unfortunately, many government officials have begun privatizing prisons for their own gain, selling facilities, borrowing off the books, and simultaneously raising taxes. Employee cuts are made at the prisons to increase private profits, leading to dangerous situations as seen in New Jersey. Employees are also underpaid; much of this is thought to be in an effort to eliminate public employment and unionizing .
Implication: The article relates to the field of corrections in several obvious ways. For example, privatization of prisons puts employees at risk . Privatizations of prisons began on a noticeable scale in 1997 when employment cuts, primarily for prison guards, were made slowly each year. This left several prisons understaffed, principally minimum-security prisons. In the past 10 years, over 600 requests for funding specifically for more hires have been put in on behalf of prisons across the country, however they have been denied. This denial is most likely due to privatization; the funding comes out of the government’s pocket. Leaving the prisons understaffed, however, has also resulted in the injuries and reported deaths of 124 prison guards in the past decade.
Prison privatization is also not safe for the prisoners . While this is not the first thing on many individual’s minds, leaving some people to suffer would be considered inhumane by most. Prison guards have been fired, but medical staff has also been cut severely. Many prisoners, even in minimum-security prisons, are left to battle injuries and illness without the proper care, medicine, or equipment in many circumstances. The privatization of prisons leaves the prison at the mercy of the corporation running it; in many instances, they do not see the sense in spending money on healthcare. This move is arguably agreeable, but some would call it unethical.
Other programs, such as education and rehabilitation (drug and social) have been undercut thanks to privatization, creating a system in which we no longer insert individuals back into society, but simply wait for them to be re-incarcerated. Prisons are now a business.
Evaluation: The article was important to the field of corrections for a few reasons. For example, the American people need to be notified that their taxes may be raised without them knowing, for a cause that no longer exists. Prisons are privatized, it is a business, and we are no longer rehabilitating prisoners. Yet the government still managers to raise taxes because of the prison system. Many people who may feel so inspired by the justice that the field of corrections serves, they may want to pursue a job in it. The article, and others like it, is important because it can encourage people from ruining their lives by attaching themselves to a faulty cause that has been tainted.
The article is also important to the field of corrections because it is not too late to change what has been done. Prisons are being privatized; it is not right but it does not have to be the way things remain. The first step to change is being alerted to wrongdoings of the American government. Officials who find these wrongdoings unjust, or who believe the American people should not be paying taxes based on a faulty “justice” system, will see the country’s reaction, and may be further coerced into taking action. Therefore, the article is important to the field of corrections because without it, there would be no change and the prison system would remain a fruitless, pointless, money-grubbing business venture on the part of heartless government capitalists.
Conclusion: I believe this article and many like it are necessary. The privatization of prisons is wrong. It turns what is supposed to be a system of punishment and rehabilitation into a business. The environment becomes toxic and unsafe not only for the prisoners, but also for the employees. While some may argue that the prisoners brought this environment upon themselves, as government employees, the government owes security guards and anybody else working in a facility such as a prison, the proper protection. Unjust conduct such as selling facilities, borrowing off the books, or raising taxes that the public are unable to detect in unconstitutional, and needs to be brought to light.
References
Genter, S., Hooks, G., & Mosher, C. (2013). Prisons, jobs and privatization: The impact of prisons on employment growth in rural US counties, 1997–2004. Social Science Research, 596-610.
Kim, Y., & Price, B. E. (2014). Revisiting Prison Privatization: :An Examination of the Magnitude of Prison Privatization. Administration and Society, 56-62.
Krugman, P. (2012, June 21). Prisons, Privatization, Patronage. Retrieved from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/22/opinion/krugman-prisons-privatization-patronage.html?_r=0
