Prisoner labor
Prisoner labor is the productive effort contributed to the economy by those who are incarcerated. Traditionally, prison labor has tended to be inefficient, largely due to its being bureaucratically organized. Concerns about security have often been such a high priority that the freedom needed for prisoners to accomplish productive work has been mostly eliminated.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, organized labor and business successfully lobbied for legislation prohibiting private firms from contracting for prison labor and selling prison-made goods on the open market. This replaced the "contract" system of prison labor, which allowed private firms to contract for prisoner labor, with the "state-use" system, in which prisoners work exclusively for the state and the state is the exclusive market for prison-made goods.[1] One proposal for making prison labor more efficient is to allow prisoners to run businesses and retain profits. Officially sanctioned inmate-run businesses have included Con'Puter Systems Programming (Massachusetts), the Inmate Novelty Program (Maine), the Free Venture Pilot Program, and the Private Sector/Prison Industry Enhancement Certificate Program.[2]
References
- ↑ Garvey, Stephen P. (January 1998). "Freeing Prisoners' Labor". Stanford Law Review 50 (2): 339-398. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1229292.
- ↑ Washburn, J.J. (Winter 1987). "Businesses Behind Bars: The Case for Prisoner Entrepreneurship". New England Journal on Criminal and Civil Confinement 13 (1): 117-144. https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/Abstract.aspx?id=106941.