Prison Industry Complex in America

Summary

The video script delves into the U.S. prison industrial complex, highlighting the nation's high incarceration rates driven by nonviolent drug offenses and the profit-driven nature of private prisons. It discusses the historical roots of privatization, the impact on communities reliant on prisons for economic stability, and the challenges faced by the prisoner re-entry industry. The script also addresses racial disparities in incarceration, the influence of lobbying on policy, and the need for a more humane and effective criminal justice system.

Takeaways

• 🌐 The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, largely due to the privatization of prisons and the high rate of imprisonment for nonviolent drug offenses.
• 🏭 The Prison Policy Initiative (PPI) is working to reverse the trend of mass incarceration and has been gathering data on the prison system, highlighting the correlation between privatization and increased prison populations.
• 💰 Privatization of prisons, driven by profit motives, has led to communities becoming economically dependent on local prisons, perpetuating and exploiting social inequalities.
• 📈 The number of private prisons has increased, with companies like Correctional Corporation of America (CCA) and GEO Group being major providers, focusing on profit over the welfare of inmates.
• 🔄 The history of private prisons dates back to convict leasing, a form of forced labor that emerged after the abolition of slavery, and has evolved into the current system of for-profit incarceration.
• 🏛️ Limiting the number of inmates and facilities for private prisons could be a starting point for policy changes aimed at reducing the costs and negative impacts of the prison industry.
• 🤝 Re-entry programs for formerly incarcerated individuals are crucial, but the Prisoner Re-entry Industry (PRI) has been criticized for prioritizing profits over effective reintegration into society.
• 🏢 The PRI industry, including both for-profit and nonprofit entities, relies on the continuous cycle of incarceration and re-entry, often failing to provide adequate support for successful reintegration.
• 📊 High rates of recidivism are linked to the failure of re-entry programs to effectively prepare individuals for life outside of prison, with many returning to prison for violating conditions of release rather than new convictions.
• 🌐 Racial and economic disparities are evident in the prison system, with African-American men being disproportionately incarcerated and facing greater challenges in accessing legal representation and maintaining family and work relationships.

Q & A

What is the term used to describe the industry of privatized prisons in the United States?

The term used is the 'prison industrial complex'.

What is the current incarceration rate of the United States according to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics?

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world.

What is the Prison Policy Initiative (PPI) and what is its goal?

The PPI is a group created to reverse the trend of extreme growth in the prison population and has been recording this growth and gathering data on the prison system for the last decade.

What percentage of the prison population is there for non-violent crimes, and what is the common reason for this?

75% of the inmates are there for non-violent crimes, often related to the possession of illegal drugs, which is argued to be directly correlated to the privatization of American prisons.

How do private prisons differ from public ones in terms of their end goal?

Private prisons differ from public ones in that they have the end goal of making a profit.

What is one of the negative impacts of private prisons on communities?

Private prisons can lead to entire communities becoming dependent on local prisons for economic substance, which in turn exploits social inequalities.

What is the history of private prisons in the United States, and how did it start?

The history of private prisons started with 'convict leasing' at the end of slavery in the United States, where facilities would lease convicts to plantation or factory owners for forced labor.

Which are the two primary private prison providers in the United States?

The two primary private prison providers are the Correctional Corporation of America (CCA) and GEO Group.

What is the Prisoner Re-entry Industry (PRI), and how does it relate to the prison industrial complex?

The PRI is an industry that focuses on programs and services for the formerly incarcerated, and it is considered a part of the social control industrial complex, similar to the prison industrial complex.

What is the main concern regarding the oversight of re-entry programs for the formerly incarcerated?

The main concern is that there is very little oversight over these programs, which may not be effectively linking the formerly incarcerated with the social capital and human skills necessary for successful reintegration.

What challenges do formerly incarcerated individuals face when trying to reintegrate into society, according to the script?

Challenges include unemployment, lack of access to education due to inability to receive Pell grants, displacement or homelessness due to public housing rules, and the stigma of having a conviction which affects job prospects and social acceptance.

Outlines

00:00

🏭 The Prison Industrial Complex and Incarceration Rates

This paragraph discusses the rise of the prison industrial complex in the United States, which is a network of private prisons that contribute to the country's high incarceration rate. It highlights the link between mass imprisonment for nonviolent drug offenses, rapid poverty, and the political influence of private prison industries that profit from inmate labor. The paragraph introduces Susan Madis, the host of the show, and Anthony Thompson, a professor at NYU, who explains the different ways prisons can be privatized, including the sale of state prisons to corporations like the Correctional Corporation of America (CCA). Thompson also touches on the history of private prisons, starting from convict leasing post-slavery to the modern-day profit-driven prison system.

05:02

🛑 The Prisoner Re-entry Industry and Social Control

The second paragraph delves into the prisoner re-entry industry (PRI), which is part of the broader social control industrial complex. It describes the PRI as a collection of institutions and organizations that profit from services aimed at reintegrating former prisoners back into society, often at the expense of taxpayers. Professor Douglas Tomkins from John J College of Criminal Justice discusses the challenges faced by the re-entry industry, including the lack of effective programs to link former inmates with social capital and human skills necessary for successful reintegration. The paragraph also addresses the issue of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system, noting that African-American men are significantly more likely to be incarcerated than their white counterparts.

10:03

🤝 The Challenges of Re-entry and Economic Impacts

This paragraph explores the difficulties faced by individuals re-entering society after incarceration, including scheduling conflicts between work and mandatory treatment programs, as well as the lack of oversight in the organizations providing these services. It also discusses the economic impacts of private prisons on rural communities, which have been promised income generation through the establishment of prisons but have often been left economically vulnerable when these facilities fail to meet expectations. The paragraph touches on the political implications of private prisons, including their lobbying efforts to influence criminal justice policies and the potential for targeting minority groups to maintain prison populations.

15:03

🚑 Inadequate Healthcare and Inhumane Treatment in Prisons

The fourth paragraph focuses on the inadequate healthcare provided to incarcerated individuals, including the lack of attention to medical, dental, and mental health issues, as well as substance abuse treatment. It discusses the inhumane treatment of prisoners, such as physical and emotional brutality, and the challenges faced by the Correctional Association in advocating for a more humane criminal justice system. The paragraph also addresses the issue of sexual assault in prisons and the lack of educational and vocational training opportunities for prisoners, which are crucial for successful reintegration into society.

20:03

🏡 Re-entry Barriers and the Disproportionate Impact on the Underprivileged

The final paragraph examines the barriers faced by individuals trying to reintegrate into society after prison, such as the inability to access public housing, limited job opportunities due to felony convictions, and the ineligibility for Pell grants which hinder education prospects. It also discusses the challenges of maintaining family ties due to the remote locations of many facilities, particularly for low-income families. The paragraph emphasizes the disproportionate impact of the prison system on people of color and the economically disadvantaged, and it concludes with insights from individuals who have experienced re-entry, suggesting that decriminalization of certain offenses and focusing on the relationship between poverty and crime could be beneficial approaches to tackling the issue.

Keywords

💡Prison Industrial Complex

The 'Prison Industrial Complex' refers to the network of interests and institutions that profit from the mass incarceration of individuals, particularly through the privatization of prisons. In the video, it is mentioned as a driving factor behind the high incarceration rate in the United States, where private prisons aim to make a profit, which can lead to a focus on increasing inmate populations rather than rehabilitation.

💡Incarceration Rate

The 'incarceration rate' is the number of people imprisoned per 100,000 of the national population. The script highlights that the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, which is tied to the prison industrial complex and the policies that contribute to mass imprisonment, especially for nonviolent drug offenses.

💡Nonviolent Drug Offenses

'Nonviolent drug offenses' are crimes related to the possession or use of illegal drugs without any violent behavior. The script points out that 75% of inmates are incarcerated for such offenses, which critics argue is a result of the privatization of prisons and the focus on profit over rehabilitation.

💡Privatization

To 'privatize' refers to the process of transferring a service or business from the public sector to the private sector. In the context of the video, privatization of prisons is criticized for leading to a profit-driven approach that may exploit inmates and perpetuate social inequalities, rather than focusing on effective corrections and reintegration.

💡Inmate Labor

'Inmate labor' is the work performed by prisoners, often for minimal wages. The script discusses how private prison industries profit from this cheap labor, which can contribute to the perpetuation of mass incarceration and the exploitation of inmates.

💡Sentencing Reform

'Sentencing reform' pertains to changes in the laws and policies that dictate the punishment for crimes. The video suggests that policy decisions on sentencing reform are necessary to reduce the costs of the prison industry and address the high incarceration rate.

💡Prisoner Re-entry Industry

The 'Prisoner Re-entry Industry' (PRI) involves institutions, organizations, and programs aimed at facilitating the transition of former prisoners back into society. The script describes the PRI as a part of the social control industrial complex, where profit-making can overshadow the effective reintegration of former inmates.

💡Social Control

'Social control' refers to the regulation of behavior through various means, including the criminal justice system. The video discusses how the prison and re-entry industries can be seen as forms of social control, with policies and practices that may not always serve the best interests of individuals or communities.

💡Racial Discrimination

'Racial discrimination' is the unfair treatment of individuals based on their race or ethnicity. The script provides statistics showing that African-American men are significantly more likely to be incarcerated than their white counterparts, highlighting racial disparities within the criminal justice system.

💡Oversight

'Oversight' in this context refers to the monitoring and regulation of organizations or industries to ensure they operate according to standards and laws. The video suggests that there is a lack of oversight in the re-entry industry, which may contribute to ineffective services for formerly incarcerated individuals.

💡Reintegration

'Reintegration' is the process of helping individuals who have been incarcerated to return to and become productive members of society. The script emphasizes the importance of reintegration programs that start from the moment of incarceration and involve family and community support to increase the chances of successful reentry.

Highlights

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, driven by the privatization of prisons and increasing rates of non-violent crime incarcerations.

The prison population in the United States has risen 50% since 1991, with 75% of inmates incarcerated for non-violent crimes such as drug possession.

The privatization of prisons, known as the prison industrial complex, has resulted in entire communities becoming economically dependent on local prisons.

In 2011, Ohio sold a state prison to the Correctional Corporation of America (CCA), one of the two major private prison providers in the U.S.

Historically, private prisons have roots in convict leasing post-slavery, where convicts were leased out to plantation and factory owners for labor.

Between the 1970s and 2000s, there was a significant increase in privatization of prisons, leading to the development of major private prison companies like CCA and GEO Group.

Private prisons often have lower standards for training and staffing, resulting in poorer conditions and services for inmates.

Private prison companies lobby extensively to influence laws and policies that increase incarceration rates, particularly affecting minority groups.

The prisoner re-entry industry (PRI) has also become a profitable sector, with for-profit and non-profit entities providing services that may not effectively support reintegration.

Re-entry programs often fail to adequately prepare formerly incarcerated individuals for employment, leading to high unemployment rates among parolees.

Formerly incarcerated individuals face numerous barriers to reintegration, including restrictions on housing, employment, and access to education.

The Correctional Association of New York advocates for better prison conditions and re-entry support, emphasizing the importance of maintaining family and community ties during incarceration.

Many rural communities turned to private prisons as an economic solution during the 2008 downturn, but some have faced financial challenges when prisons failed to deliver promised benefits.

Private prisons profit from low-wage inmate labor, and their growth has been associated with efforts to influence legislation that increases incarceration rates.

Medical care and mental health treatment in prisons are often inadequate, with substance abuse and mental health issues frequently going untreated.

Educational and vocational training opportunities in prisons are limited, hindering the ability of formerly incarcerated individuals to reintegrate successfully into society.

Transcripts

the ever growing industry of privatized

prisons generally referred to as the

prison industrial complex and the

skyrocketing rate of incarceration has

left the united states with the highest

incarceration rate in the world the

issue ties together many social aspects

such as the connection between the

massive rate of imprisonment for

nonviolent drug use rampid poverty and

the growing political influence of

private prison industries that thrive on

inmate population as cheap forms of

Labor so what's an incarcerated criminal

worth what companies run these prisons

and how and what impact does the growing

industry of private prisons have on

communities that are now relying on

these prisons as their only economic

basis Lots talk about the answers to

those questions and more on today's

inside

out

hello and welcome to the show I'm Susan

madis according to the US Bureau of

Justice statistics the United States has

the highest incarceration rate in the

world the prison policy initiative also

called ppi is a group created to reverse

this trend and has been recording this

extreme growth of the prison population

and Gathering data on the prison system

for the last decade since 1991 the

prison population has risen 50% 75% of

the inmates are there for non-violent

crimes like possession of illegal drugs

the PPI and others argue that this is

directly correlated to the privatization

of American prisons known as the prison

industrial complex these private prisons

unlike public ones have the end goal of

making a profit today this has resulted

in entire communities dependent upon

local prisons for economic substance

that in turn perpetrate and exploit

social

inequalities I recently sat down with

Anthony Thompson he is a professor at

NYU and the author of the book releasing

prisoners redeeming communities re-entry

race and politics here's what he had to

say when you talk about prisons being

privatized private prisons occur in a

couple of different ways in 2011 we saw

for example the state of Ohio sell a

prison to Correctional Corporation of

America CCA which is one of the two big

private prison providers that's a bit

unusual um privatization really has um

private prison authorities building

facilities in communities usually rural

communities or agreeing in their

existing facilities to take out ofate

prisoners and

so you you more I think you focus on the

number of both civil and criminal

detainees so for example we see the

number of immigration detainees

increasing in private prisons it's about

16,000 this year um and depending on

Whose study you believe there's about

anywhere from 170 to 200,000 uh

individuals Serv serving time in private

prisons the history of private prisons

started with what was called Comic

leasing historically private prisons

were part of something called convict

leasing at the end of slavery in the

United States you had these huge

plantations that still needed workers

but slavery was outlawed and so what

would happen is facilities in the south

in particular would engage in convict

leasing they would lease large numbers

of convicts to plantation owners um to

factory owners and that forced labor

essentially was the beginning of

privatization of the corrections process

then you saw a bit of a Hiatus and then

in the huge jump and incarceration

between the 70s and the year 2000 um we

saw an increase in um privatization of

Prisons you saw the development of the

CCA the correctional um Corporation of

America and Geo which is at one point

the wacken hunt group those are the two

primary uh prison private prison

providers in the United States there are

others but those are the kind of the big

numbers with so much money being spent

on prisons each year what can be done to

reduce the costs of this industry we are

essentially kicking the can down the

road in terms of policy decisions on

sentencing reform on other things so I

think that that um limiting the number

of inmates that a particular

jurisdiction can send or limiting the

number of facilities that can be built

by private prisons might be a start but

I think we need to rethink Corrections

more globally um than simply the private

prisons piece while the privatization of

the prison system has proved to be big

business so has an industry less talked

about which is the prisoner re-entry

industry or the PRI according to my next

guest it has become a major part of the

social control industrial complex as

with the prison industrial complex the

PRI is not just a collection of

Institutions organizations and interest

groups both public and private it is

also a state of mind Professor Douglas

Tomkins teaches at the sociology

department at John J College of Criminal

Justice he has done extensive research

into the culture of violence within the

prison community and the relationship

between institutional social control

policies and prisoner

re-entry according to Professor Tomkins

developing and facilitating programs and

services for the formerly incarcerated

have become a huge cash C producing

profits for the PRI at the expense of

the taxpayer while doing little to link

the formerly incarcerated person to the

Social Capital and human skills

necessary to become a citizen re-entry

for me is a period of post- prison

supervision you're still under the

direction of the Criminal Justice System

I think that most people when they think

re-entry they thinking reintegration a

person leaving prison rejoining their

Community their family having a job

becoming a law-abiding citizen within

the community a contributing member of

the Community uh re-entry for me again

is post prison supervision and if you

look at the data the suggestion is that

most people are going back to prison uh

for violating uh conditions of release 2

to one sometimes 3 to one going back to

prison for violating conditions of

release versus uh getting a new

conviction the

industry uh consists of for-profit

nonprofit nonprofit for-profit inter

entities who provide services for

persons uh coming out of prison

um the industry now relies upon the

formally incarcerated person and to be

honest members of their family is the

cash cow uh the raw material that runs

the engine of the industry um you have

to have a client to serve to service to

exist uh if we were to look you would

find a huge increase in the number of

entities uh organizations that are now

providing services for for incarcerated

people Tomkins Drew much of his research

on the re-entry industry from the prison

industrial complex when you talk about

private prisons uh it is private it is

for profit uh profit is the main

goal uh if you go into those facilities

you'll find that uh you have under

trained understaffed uh uh prison um

staff uh you find that the services

afforded uh prisoners are not the same

because again it's for profit okay uh

you'll find that you have uh levels of

conflict uh Within These facilities it's

for profit um and I question if being

for profit if they're in the position to

really provide the services that we as

taxpayers expect from Correctional

agencies Tomkins notes that one of the

important end goals of these programs

should be to create employment

opportunities for the formerly

incarcerated and Empower them to access

the necessary resources afforded to all

citizens however that's not the case uh

for example in the state of New York um

in 2009

65% of those persons on parole were

unemployed 65

5% uh less than 15% were employed

fulltime making more than minimum wage

now that concerns me uh it concerns me

because we have again a list of

organizations that suggest that they're

in the business

of positioning persons coming out of

prison to be in a position to get a job

right but when we look at the data 65%

unemployed in New York state I I

question if these organizations re-entry

type organizations are actually doing

their job so what kind of oversight is

there in these organizations there

really isn't any oversight uh many of

the people that I've interviewed uh most

persons coming out of prison are

required to do drug treatment and anger

management regardless of the conditions

of their conviction meaning no violence

no drugs but you're still required to do

those types of training much of that

training uh treatment is being provided

by private entities now here's an

example of of the overall problem an

individual uh many of the individuals

I've interviewed would say uh I had the

opportunity to get a job but the work

schedule conflicted with my treatment

schedule so I went to my parole officer

and asked if I could have my treatment

schedule reworked so that I could do

treatment and work the parole officer's

normal response is you have to work that

out with your treatment coordinator you

go to the treatment organization and

those organizations will say to you um

no don't think so you need to be here

this is the condition of your release

and if you don't show up uh you know you

may be violated these are for-profit

entities these are

organizations uh who are making a profit

providing the services according to the

Pew research center of the 2.6 million

Americans who are incarcerated 1 million

or 43% are African-American men

African-American men are 7 to eight

times more likely to go to prison than

their white counterparts nearly one in

three africanamerican men will be

incarcerated during their lifetime when

you talk about racial discrimination uh

that includes uh the starting point not

being in a position to hire an

attorney uh not being in a position to

make bond individuals who are in a

position to make bond to be released

from jail pending their trial are often

in a position a better position to maybe

uh beat their case win uh a fair trial

so to speak um to maintain their family

relationship the work

relationship uh race is it about race of

course is about race this is United

States of America okay of course race

plays a role but but it's also about

class so to what extent do these private

prisons work toward a profit prison

policy initiative shows that these

prisons exploit prisoners who work well

below minimum wage not only that these

prisons often feed local economies

according to the American civil

liberties Union this incentive for

prison growth lends itself for lobbying

to change laws to get more prisoners

that targets minority groups and keeps

building up prison populations so a

number of Rural communities as the

downturn occurred in 2008 um began to

gravitate toward private prisons um as a

way to generate income the promise was

build a prison will bring uh inmat from

out of the area and will fill your

facilities and and some of those were

successful Arizona's had some success

with that in Texas there are a number of

communities though when you look at a

place like Littlefield Texas or Harden

Montana that created a bond to build a

facility you know Littlefield Texas I

think spent somewhere in the

neighborhood of $9 million and had a

bond um after a year that private prison

went out of business they were stuck

with the bond um in Montana hard Montana

the sound defaulted on the bonds because

they never actually were able to fill

the prison um so a lot of these rural

communities were left kind of in the

Lurch economically um but there have

been some successes and and in those

communities the danger is when you have

a guarant number of beds by the private

prison right and so you have some

jurisdictions where either the private

prison the as crime rates fell people

weren't going to be sent to that prison

and the threat of lawsuits for example

you know in Arizona CCA threatened to

sue one Community for not sending enough

prisoners even though there were

problems with Escapes in Arizona um so I

think that there's there those kinds of

economic impacts however there are

political implications as well private

prison spend an enormous amount of money

lobbying state government and federal

government officials and it's one of the

intersections of our Democratic process

it's uncomfortable because we have a

very public function Corrections and yet

we see the impact of lobbying dollars on

Corrections decisions and the ability to

create private prison beds and private

prison facilities even the federal

government um is doing a fair amount of

business with private prisons around

immigration detention now and that looks

to be the growth market for private

prisons founded in 1844 the correctional

Association is an independent nonprofit

organization that advocates for a more

Humane and effective Criminal Justice

System Sophia Elijah is executive

director of the correctional Association

of New York the ca Works to build

communities most negatively affected by

criminal justice policy it is the only

private organization in New York with

unrestricted access to prisons while New

York state does not have any private

private prisons the ca has found that

prisons often ignore people's medical

and mental health problems and leave

their substance abuse problems untreated

during the time of incarceration and

then there is the issue of inhumane

treatment in the facilities well you

know throughout the Country Medical Care

Health Care for people who are

incarcerated is abysmal with few

exceptions and New York is is no

different and part of this is because of

the econom

and so there's not enough dollars that

are being spent to provide people with

adequate Medical Care Dental Care is

absolutely abysmal people who have

substance abuse treatment issues are

being treated kind of in a cookie cutter

approach so that it's a one size fits

all no matter how old or long someone

has had an addiction problem and so we

have found that this is an ongoing

problem in addition we found major

problems with respect to the treatment

of the mentally ill there's a

disproportionate number of people who

have mental illness um who are

incarcerated in large measure this is

because um several decades ago we closed

a number of mental health facilities and

therefore that population not getting

the kind of treatment that it needed in

the community found itself intersecting

with the criminal justice system more

often than not and so the um the type of

care available and Treatment available

for those who are mentally ill is

lacking throughout the system despite

the the best efforts of um Department of

Corrections and Community Supervision

and the office of mental health aside

from the issue of medical care abuse and

the inhumane treatment of the prisoners

have also become a cause for concern you

know we are constantly reminded through

letters and through our visits of just

brutality physical brutality emotional

brutality verbal harassment and

brutality that is rampant throughout the

system there's also a problem of sexual

assault in the New York State system

that has come to the attention of the

federal um authorities and we've been

working on on that we're also concerned

about opportunities for educational and

vocational training so that people have

an um the ability to be contributing

members of society when they return home

and then certainly there's the whole

stigma of having a conviction then that

gets in the way of being able to get a

job to get financial aid to get housing

thereby making it more difficult for

someone to successfully reintegrate into

society in the last decade New York has

downsized the number of public prisons

and crime rates have dropped

significantly however on the national

front the private prison industry has

been on the rise privatization of

Prisons is a major problem throughout

the country so the the majority of the

increase in prison building over the

past decade or so has been with private

prisons and not federal and state run

prisons and the the profit margin is

what drives private prisons and the cost

cutting measures to increase profits all

come on the backs of those who are

employed in the facilities and those who

are incarcerated in the facilities the

correctional Association notes on its

website that prisoner re-entry should

begin the moment someone enters a prison

when someone first is incarcerated there

should be a major effort to involve

their family members and their loved

ones in their re-entry process so that

when someone comes home they're not

strangers to their families or to their

communities and this the strengthening

of family ties and Community ties has

occurred during that period of time that

they're incarcerated so when they come

home the people that they're going to to

depend on for support have a better

understanding of what that experience

has been and how they can be the most

supportive um foundation for the person

coming home it also provides the

formally incarcerated person with a

feeling of acceptance as opposed to a

feeling of rejection which is the system

that we have now unfortunately most of

our re-entry programs that involve um

the family start about 6 months before

someone is going to come home and that's

just not enough while the amilies often

try to make the efforts to stay in

contact with the members that have been

incarcerated that itself has its

challenges notably for low-income

families most of the facilities are

located in remote areas of New York

State the majority of the population

that's incarcerated comes from New York

City and the majority of the facilities

are in Upstate New York so just the cost

of the travel to those places is very

very challenging in the prison system

has a disproportionate impact on people

of color and poorer people and so the

challenge of being able to maintain ties

and to be able to visit is increased

because of the economics of trying to

travel to these remote places Logistics

play hand inhand with collateral

consequences once the person

incarcerated returns home if someone has

a felony conviction they cannot have

public housing if they come back home to

a family that is living in public

housing that family will lose their

housing if that formally incarcerated

person returns home so you're displacing

families or you're rendering the person

who's coming home homeless because they

can't go back to that public housing

there's many jobs that a person cannot

qualify for if they have a felony

conviction thereby um compromising their

ability to contribute to the Family

Support so and then there's the problem

of pel Grants people who are incarc

cannot receive pel grants for towards

their education and it's unfor most

unfortunate because it's been shown that

education is one of the key factors to

successfully re-entering into society so

if you can't get an education because

you can't afford it the likelihood that

you're going to successfully reenter is

greatly reduced we took to the streets

to see what some people had to say about

our topic of discussion today which for

me it was hard because I came out from

prison and I had nowhere to come out to

so you know that's a different type of

way of coming out homeless but you know

if you put effort into doing the things

that you feel you need to do for

yourself eventually I went to a halfway

house I didn't go to a shelter I I

refuseed to go to shelter I got help and

went to a halfway house anyway you can

tackle the problem in terms of

decriminalizing certain uh things uh

certain uh actions or

offenses uh it could be helpful uh and I

think uh that's not a bad way to go and

it's a good start uh you know it's such

a large problem that uh even if you're

able to take on one issue and just like

use that and just like really focus on

that I think a large of it a large part

of it is also the relationship between

poverty uh the economics of poverty and

crime that's all the time we have for

today's show thank you for staying with

us and watching remember you can always

send me your emails to inside out at sus

modis.com I'm always looking forward to

them you can also follow me on Twitter

for latest updates and discussions until

next week in another show

goodbye