criminal values? race, class, & “capitalist” punishment controversies of cost-cutting,...

Criminal Values? Criminal Values? Race, Class, & “Capitalist” Race, Class, & “Capitalist”

PunishmentPunishment

Controversies of Cost-Cutting, Controversies of Cost-Cutting, Privatization, and the Prison SystemPrivatization, and the Prison System

Exploding Incarceration Rates Exploding Incarceration Rates Meant an Overcrowding Crisis Meant an Overcrowding Crisis Behind BarsBehind Bars

U.S. prison population has more than quadrupled since 1980

Response #1:Response #1:Punishment on the CheapPunishment on the Cheap

Response #2:Response #2:The Birth of a Prison Industrial ComplexThe Birth of a Prison Industrial Complex

Multibillion dollar business:

1. Prison construction2. Food services 3. Clothing manufacturers 4. Health Services5. “Security-Ware”

ControversiesControversies

Efficiency ArgumentEfficiency Argument How do private prisons compare with How do private prisons compare with

their public-sector counterparts? their public-sector counterparts? Legitimacy ArgumentLegitimacy Argument

To what extent is the use of for-profit To what extent is the use of for-profit private prisons consistent with society's private prisons consistent with society's obligations to those it incarcerates? obligations to those it incarcerates?

Criminologists Are Most Concerned Criminologists Are Most Concerned With Legitimacy With Legitimacy

Break down in accountabilityBreak down in accountability Human Conditions of Confinement Human Conditions of Confinement Beyond Public-PrivateBeyond Public-Private