Imprisoning youth: There must be a better way
On the evening of June 30 a meeting was held during which Correctional Services Corp. presented its plan for a brand new, Astate-of-the-art@ youth prison, which it chooses to call a Atreatment facility.@ It was very depressing to witness. It has prompted me to write about this, if for no other reason than to vent my frustration.
Someone once said something to the effect that the degree of Acivilization@ in a society can be measured by the method of punishment used. If this is true, then Acivilization@ in America is rapidly declining. Whether it be adult or juvenile offenders, we stand along among all Western democracies in our rate of incarceration. (We currently rank second to Russia.)
This is how we deal with people who present problems to us. When it comes to children, we are perhaps even worse. We ignore them for years, subjecting them and their families to years of humiliating poverty or near poverty conditions, gross abuse and neglect, all the while ignoring their please for help. And when Csurprise, surpriseCthese children begin to Aact out@ in obvious anger and protest, we label them as Acriminals,@ or, perhaps worse, as Asociopaths@ or Alearning disabled@ or, to use the current favorite, as having a Aconduct disorder.@ We never seem to recognize (despite warnings from most reputable experts) that these are natural consequences of their social environment. (Many will allege that most children living in poverty do not commit crimesCwhen in fact recent research demonstrates that somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 percent of youth living in poverty will be arrested at least once while growing up.)
One does not need a degree from MIT to realize what the consequences of years of abuse and neglect will produce. And such a degree is not necessary to predict what will occur when these children, who have become Aadults@ in body only, are put away in prison-like environments. It=s irrelevant that we call some of these institutions Atreatment facilities.@ What is relevant is the logical outcomeCmore abuse and neglect, and with it more acting-out and aggression.
But apparently we don=t care, because we are obviously unwilling to spend a small amount of money to prevent this from happening, but more than willing to spend $20 million on a youth prison in North Las Vegas (pardon meCa AYouth Treatment Facility@). And it is not that our country does not have any money. To the contrary, we gladly spend about $30 million every hour of the day (on average) on the military industrial complex in order to make us Asecure@ against non-existing external enemies.
Extending this logic, we quite naturally spend an almost equal amount to contain our Ainternal enemies@Cin this case the children of the poor, especially those with a black or brown face. (A recent report notes that state corrections spending has outpace spending on education and Medicaid. Expenditures on corrections increased by more than 250 percent between the early 1980s and mid-1990s, from a mere $9 billion to around $40 billion. Contrary to the media and politicians, crime in the majority of states actually increased during this time.)
Twenty million dollars for a Atreatment facility@ complete with a 10-foot high fence with razor wire on the top. Of course, there will be additional expenditures, like $3 million to $4 million each year on operating expenses and, of course, a 30-year mortgage, which will bring the price tag up to around $60 million. All for about 100 Adangerous@ kids.
The youths who will be sent to this institution supposedly suffer from sever forms of mental illness. If this is the case, then why not some sort of psychiatric treatment facility? Why a maximum-security prison? (I wonder what happens to youth from wealthy families who suffer from these problems.) But what=s a few million dollars when it will provide jobs and profits to a corporation that has joined the list of others who are cashing in on crime?
Think of all the vendors who provide various services and products to correctional facilities all over the country. Think about the fact that the occupation of Acorrectional officer@ is one of the fastest growing jobs in the country. Think about a huge Acorrectional industrial complex@ that makes millions of dollars each year in profitsCthanks in large part to the Awar on drugs,@ which has resulted in an incredible increase in the proportion of drug offenders going to prison (mostly African-Americans and Hispanics, by the way). And think of all the profits going toward responding to Ayouth crime.@
Yes, the beneficiaries of the new Atreatment facility@ in North Las Vegas are numerous and they are smiling all the way to the bank. Too bad there is virtually no research evidence that such a facility will reduce crime, much less turn these kids aroundCnot after 15-plus years of abuse and neglect on the part of their Acaretakers@ (parents and the juvenile justice system).
Yes, it was depressing to attend that meeting, especially since so few people from the community were in attendance. When asked what evidence can be provided that this new Atreatment facility@ will be successful, no one on the panel could provide an answer. Are there alternatives? I=m certain we could find some if we began to use just a small portion (say 1 percent) of the aforementioned military budget (that would be $208 million per monthCabout $4 million for each state of the union each month).
Las Vegas Review-Journal, 7/11/99.
Note: this was the first of three separate commentaries on Summit View.