| Corrections, Inc.
The conservative �war on crime� has resulted in more than two million Americans, almost all poor, being incarcerated at any given time (the US has the world�s highest imprisonment rate) and several million more under some form of �correctional� supervision. Along with the misery and devastation that this has wreaked on poor people, poor families, and poor communities, the �imprisonment binge� has also created a lucrative fifty billion dollar a year industry and a scramble among various interest groups to get a share of the money spent. This website looks closely at three of those interests groups, corporations, police, and prison guard unions, and also explores some of the main effects of the binge. The assignment here is to read the three main articles (Part I, Part II, Part III) and the three sections in the gray area at the bottom of the first page (Hard Time, America�s Drug War, and Jailing the Mentally Ill). Use the �Printable Version� where available (makes it easier to read). Also read the �Sidebars� on the left side of the page for the various parts. At the right is the basic data from the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics showing the huge growth of every area of �corrections� since 1980 (the growth actually started a few years earlier in the mid 1970s). |
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