The U.S. prison population now exceeds 2 million; with 5 percent of the world's population, we have 25 percent of the world's prison inmates
The number of inmates in Michigan has quadrupled in the last 20 years, rising from 15,000 in 1984 to nearly 50,000 in 2005, and the budget of the Michigan Department of Corrections is now more than $2 billion.
Thomas Sowell (LSJ, March 14) states that increasing the U.S. prison population has reduced crime rates nation-wide. Under closer inspection, however, this correlation does not hold up.
Prison capacity in New York state rose slightly in the 1980s, yet the crime rate fell more than in California, where the number of prisoners quadrupled. In Michigan, the violent crime rate in 1992 was the same as that in 1984, yet the prison population had more than doubled.
Sowell also claims that releasing prisoners costs more than imprisoning them, and dismisses alternatives to incarceration proposed by "politicians and ideologues of the left." In Michigan, of the 11,000 prisoners released in 2003, 70 percent had not returned to prison within two years. Of those released in 2000, only 2.8 percent had been convicted of assaultive crimes by 2004.
On their release from prison, the Michigan Department of Corrections formerly gave felons $75, less any charges, a 30-day supply of medication, and prison khakis, and put them on a bus. On arrival home they were often rejected by their families.
Infrequent contact with their families during incarceration, and limited support during re-entry for persons who have no SS cards, drivers' licenses, homes, bank accounts, or jobs favors their return to prison. In some states felons cannot receive food stamps, federal housing, and/or student loans, and may be barred from jobs.
Given these restrictions, well-paying jobs are hard to find.
Assisting released felons in re-entry is more effective, and much less costly, than returning them to prison. The MDOC now has a program (Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiation Program, or MPRI) that helps parolees find jobs and housing. Staff members meet with those about to be released and guide them during re-entry. Volunteers help them to obtain housing and drivers' licenses, and to prepare for interviews with employers.
Additional possibilities for reducing prison population, and therefore costs, have been proposed by organizations such as the Citizens Alliance on Prisons and Public Spending. These include, for example, granting parole to more prisoners with very low risk of recidivism, and judicious use of alternatives to incarceration.
Many conservatives - other than Sowell - now agree that it is time to terminate the policy of "lock 'em up and throw away the key." Action must be taken to stop the revolving door, not by keeping law-breakers in prison longer, but by helping them to become law abiding - and tax-paying - citizens.