Why aren't prisoners put to work to produce something while in jail ?

Work within the prison is also work. But a lot of things can be make is jails had workshops and the inmates could learn a trade there. I am talkin for my country which has a lot less jails thanneeded and the conditions are not good to bring back to society the people who could learn from their mistakes.

There needs to be reform all over the world it seems. This is especally true for the light offenders. I think given enough will they could be turned around. Some can never be helped..but others can.

One of the reasons we keep people in prison is to keep them away from society. To have them do work outside the prison walls would mean they would have to pay people to guard them while they work. Better let them work within the prisons themselves, especially if they are guilty of violent crimes.

As far as I know, everyone in jail is required to at least pay for their personal needs like soap and shampoo, etc. That's a drop in the bucket when it comes to real costs though. For Federal prisoners, I found these statistics: "Every year that an inmate spends in prison costs $22,000. An individual sentenced to five years for a $300 theft costs the public more than $100,000. The cost of a life term averages $1.5 million." http://heartsandminds.org/prisons/facts.htm Somehow, that doesn't seem right. They mess up and we pay for it.

I don't know about prison, but some who can afford it are required to pay their room and board in some jails now, just as parents who can afford it are forced to pay their children's foster care expenses if they have been removed from their home.

peavey (6409) Exactly..there are chores the government i.e. taxpayers have to pay for plus they have to pay for room and board for the law breakers. They need to do something to earn their keep.

Thank you ... I am sooooo kicking myself for not doing a better job proofreading LOl all my typos look retarded. I do wish we could edit after posting..oh well.. Yours is an excellent idea.... to work to pay back (even if only in some small way) for their crimes. That would teach some responsibility and maybe help deter others..

Yep, they farm, or they used to as late as the 1970's... I also know that they used to have trusties doing things like fighting forest fires, but I don't know if that still happens... I remember in the early 1970's going to the Huntsville Prison Rodeo... http://www.txprisonmuseum.org/articles/rodeo_history.html

ElicBxn I am in California..the land of loons and nuts...lol I wouldn't be surprised if we overly pampered prisoners... Texas...one of my favorite states..I went to 1st and 2nd grade in Dallas..I love Texas. Prison farms sound great..do you literally mean they farm?? I know there are some staes that have that..I think Arizona might. They have a great sheriff who doesn't mess around.

I think that's a great idea for whte collar criminals who thought they were smart enough to cheat their clients or embezzle from their employers, etc and get by with it. Having to pick up litter must be quite a humbling experience for those people.

Yes it usually the little punk gang bangers do it so why not have the locked up ones clean it. Even if they were not caught doing it one of their little gangester buddies did it so let which ever ones they have in lock up clean it. I lived in texas for over 10 yrs once. Cant say im that fond of it. It was too hot and humid. I cant stand the humidity. Then theres the attitudes of the people there. Its like awhole other planet. When i first heard people say,'Ur in texas now'. I didnt understand it at first but soon got that figured out.

Good ole Texas..Love that state. I agree cleaning graffiti is a great idea..especially for those caught trashing buildings with graffiti.

jdyrj777 I only spent 2 years in Dallas when I was in the 1st and 2nd grade so my memories are childlike ones of good tmes, the neighborhood kids etc and therefore an affection for "big D" and Texas..

Why don't you think 'slave labor' is appropriate to repay society for having to have the police and arrest expense, and court expense, and housing and food expense? If everyone knows up front those are the conditions and consequences to law breaking, isn't that 'fair'?

i will not say slave labor, if i have the power to put to work is, having them working all day long with no pay at all and the hardest work i can find, like construction work or harder so next time they think on crimes they might think it twice before doing something bad, hehehe i think its better to treat them in this way, crime will decreace, im sure, but instead us, treat them like any other normal people outside i have heard from some people who have commit crimes that is better to be in jail rather than be out if it because they have free food, shelter,gym, and many friends with everthing in common this is nice right? so why give them what they want?

I think hard physical labor..and I don't meant pumping iron...would be helpful. They need mental and physical and emotional work...but most important I think they need to be kept very very busy and productive.

Good to know..I haven't seen adult prisoners working but have seen juvenile correction facility kids. I am all for them earning their keep rather than being a drain on society. It's like adding insult to injury..first they scew up them we feed and house them...

I will take your word for it and say Thank you. I would like to see those programs studied and implemented in more prisons...

No, I don't think that spending all that money to make prisoners comfortable is right. However, that was in the state of Illinois. Since I live in the state of Texas, it is considered none of my business.

bellis716 You probably are better than I am on this..I tell everyone what I think..lol but I try not to be obnoxious about it

See..and is that right?? No they are there to 'pay' for their crimes, not for a vacation.

I don't think there is a comparison between our prisons and Soviet prisons. Yes. Because we don't have forced labor like they did. Think about it this way. If someone refuses to work hard, what should we do to them? Solitary confinement? And if they *all* refuse to work hard? Are we going to build a second jail with all solitary rooms? That would spend more money, then they would create with their work. So what do we do? Beat them? See how we're heading toward the soviet system? And what incentives would you give them to work hard, or do quality work? Take a guy that's 30 years old, and has a 30 year sentence, or 20 year sentence. What incentive would possibly make him work hard, when most of his life is going to be over when he gets out? It's a tough question isn't it?

I think if they don't work you take away some priviledges. You can't have the prisoners running the prison. They need to learn discipline and self control. I would think the boredom would be enough to have them cooperate. If not..take away their TV, their library priviledges. Yes it is a tough question..

When I worked at that residential treatment facility for adolescents, I worked mostly on the graveyard shifts (overnight). In each shift, I either come in as a regular staff or pick-up staff. I was a regular staff for 3 different aged groups (not at the same time). The groups I worked with as a regular staff ranged from early teenager to late teenagers overall. Then, I pick up shifts on average going into different units working with different population. That residential treatment facility has 8 different units. When I left, there are no co-ed unit. There was actually one coed unit years ago when I started there. In some early years I worked there as a regular staff, I worked with early teenage boys' group. The youngest I dealt with would be 10 or 11 year old. My experience was mixed depending on the kinds of kids the institution. A common thing about this age group, which range mostly from 12-15: - They came from dysfunctional family. The parents may have splitted or a single dad or single mom. There are variations like a single mom can't handle her son, a single mom send her kid to an institution for no apparent reasons, or a kid got into trouble with the law that got authority's attention. - Most have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. Because of their diagnosis, some of these kids have been taking lots of meds. Some doctors, clinicians, or whoever get involved have some kids take certain meds so they don't have to deal with them with certain aggression. Some kids can act up in a certain way that would lead them having to be physically managed or restrained. Well, part of this could be triggered by physical assault or fighting directives or somewhere in between. - Different personalities: In some periods, we could have a hectic unit for a morning routine if we have significant kids with tendency to cause problems. I would love the periods where the kids are normal (like they should not be there at all). In latter years, I worked with a group of juvenile delinquents, which mostly was already with the local juvenile justice system. Their age range was mostly around 15 to over 18. The oldest is closed to 21 or about that age. I actually like working with this group better. They happen to be mostly high functioning, not necessarily that they have high IQ. Lots of these can live normal lives and hopefully become responsible citizens. They don't act up as much as the pre-adolescents and mid teenagers. Partly, there are already conditions in place for them, if they cause problems like riot, assault, and elopement, their caseworker will send them to corrections. The common things I mentioned above apply to this group too. One time, I picked up a shift in a unit that was known to be generally hectic. One of my coworkers observing different kids(specifically mid-teenagers) behaving wildly in the milieu commented, "This is the future of America." It may be troubling, but it's true. Parts of life in the US have been clouded with dysfunction. There are some parents or wannabe parents that should not have kids in the first place. Having an institution like where I worked to control a bunch of adolescents is like breeding some future inmates. Lots of time, staff ends up like babysitters. Due to some regulatory involvement, the institution where I worked, cannot do some disciplining. I better end here, because it's getting too long.

garson ..I bet you have some good and not so good stories to tell about Juvenile delinqueints..I would think that reqires a lot of patience too.

They teach prisoners dancing in prison?? That's a new one to me...Good they are taught crafts for when they get out and while there, they could raise some money for the prison.

best2011 I agree they need to be occupied while in jail but I also want to see them pay back society for the wrong they have done and pay society for the room and board they are costing.

sishen4429 ..I hope it rehabilitates them I also think more can be done to be more efficient with the prison populatuion in the US.

It doesn't have to be license plates..that is just what I remember from years ago. Any assembly line work would be helpful. I just want them occupied and productive and rehabilitated to the extent possible.

I too have heard prisoners do work within the prison..but that's not enough in my opinion. These guys and females need to be kept busy continuously to repay society and rehabilitate themselves.

I am for some counseling while in prison as well, but hard work would be great physical exercise. Making a product could raise money for the facility and victims and a minimum for themselves.

That's fine.. but I still would like to see them be productive everywhere.

That is good to hear..but I don't know it that is widespread..I hope it is.

I think many of them do work in prison doing chores and do receive a minimal amount..but I am saying it needs to be more and better organized and more efficient.