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Report on Violence and Abuse in Prisons |
The culture of violence that plagues so many of our prisons has terrible consequences for our society; it is harmful to inmates, staff and volunteers. And it endangers our communities when inmates return home after years in such turbulent environments. Yet, there are many prisons that maintain safe environments for inmates and staff. How can we encourage prison officials to adopt the procedures and policies that maintain order in prisons?
I serve on the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons, which has spent the last year exploring the most serious problems inside U.S. correctional facilities and their impact on the incarcerated, the men and women who work in facilities, and society at large.
Today, the Commission presented its report, Confronting Confinement, to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Corrections and Rehabilitation. I was among the four commissioners who testified before the subcommittee, chaired by Senator Tom Coburn (R-Ok) and co-chaired by Senator Richard Durbin (D-Il).
Among the Commission's key findings:
- Violence against prisoners and staff is a problem in too many places, and the lack of standardized, reliable data to measure violence is a serious impediment to enhancing safety.
- Poor medical and mental health care inside correctional facilities - the result of inadequate funding - puts prisoners, staff, and the public health at risk.
- Expensive, long-term, high-security segregation can actually exacerbate violence in prisons and contribute to recidivism after release.
- Line officers, wardens, and system directors frequently lack the resources and support to meet the extensive demands of the job.
The report also highlights several prisons that are safe and healthy, and makes recommendations on how correctional facilities nationwide can become safer and more effective. I wrote about one of those prisons in a previous eReport "Bearing Fruit in Angola" in which I describe how Louisiana's Angola prison went from the most dangerous prison in the United States to the most peaceful under the leadership of Warden Burl Cain.
The Commission's report will provide public officials with solid information on the impact of violence in our prisons and concrete ways to change the culture and climate in those prisons that are most dangerous. We also hope that it alerts the public to the threat to public safety posed by violent prisons.
We all have a stake in making our prisons safer. With over 600,000 prisoners being released each year, the level of violence inmates experienced inside prison will play a large part in determining the type of neighbors they will be after their release. In order to survive inside a violent prison, inmates develop "skills" that make them anti-social when they are released. On the other hand, inmates doing their time in the many peaceful prisons can use their time to prepare themselves to live healthy, productive, law-abiding lives.
It is also a matter of justice: no sentence, no matter how terrible the crime, includes being threatened, beaten or raped while in the custody of the government. "Whatever you do for the least of these, my brothers, you do unto me."
In His service,
Pat Nolan
President, Justice Fellowship
Resources
Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons
Commission Report – Confronting Confinement
Pat Nolan’s Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Corrections and Rehabilitation
National Prison Rape Elimination Commission
Bearing Fruit in Angola
Just Detention International
Why Are Some Prisons More Dangerous Than Others? |
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