The prison work of today, however, has subtly shifted its focus from rehabilitation to profit. The Commission believes that inmates should be considered as a valuable human resource from which can be provided valuable educational, vocational and work experiences and which can also provide essential funds to defray the cost of incarceration and indirect costs incurred such as welfare for an inmate's dependents. This new policy might not be considered objectionable to those frightened by burgeoning crime statistics. An iron fist may seem to be the appropriate response until more statistics are considered, facts not trumpeted on the evening news. In - The Cold War of the 90's.
Prisons are big business.
Due in large to a wave of tough anti-drug laws, the number of state and federal prisoners have more than tripled since 1980. By 1994, more than 1 million people lived in America's prisons. Another 3.7 million were on probation or parole, and half a million were confined in local county jails. This number is greater than the entire population of Wisconsin. California now spends more on its prison system than it does on its colleges and universities.