Stan Moody

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Prison Reform Goes Hi-Tech

March 5, 2011
Author: Stan Moody

What is a bankrupt state to do besides denigrating public employees for

insisting that their raided pension funds be vested? An option being kicked around
even by conservatives is to turn a million or so convicted felons onto the streets.
Weighing in as the third highest budget item at state levels behind human
services and education, the $60 - $70 billion spent annually in the US on
incarceration is about to go under the knife. Coupled with recidivism and parole
violation rates of nearly 70% nationwide, interest has emerged to kill two jailbirds,
so to speak, with one stone – high technology.
Here is a capsulation of how this is unfolding.
In Ohio, Gov. John Kasich (R), facing an $8 billion budget shortfall, has
targeted the cost of corrections as “low hanging fruit,” a perhaps unfortunate
choice of words when applied to prison culture. Florida’s Gov. Rick Scott (R)
seeks to cut $1 billion from corrections – 25% of his deficit.
Nevada’s Gov. Nathan Deal (R) has joined the chorus advocating for prison
alternatives for non-violent offenders through the strengthening of probation
monitoring and controls. Gov. Jerry Brown (D) of California, faced with a
whopping $25 billion deficit and a federal court order to release 46,000 prisoners
due to overcrowding and substandard conditions, has a plan to send non-violent
offenders to rehabilitation and save $1.6 billion.
A Pew study on Arkansas prisons projects that the next decade will require
an additional $1.1 billion for prisons, prompting panic in the Natural State with an
unnaturally bloated prison system.
Not to be outdone, and in the classic contrarian style we have learned to
expect from Gov. Scott Walker (R) of Wisconsin, his budget calls for a repeal of
cost-saving prison reform measures toward what he dubs “truth in sentencing” –
ratcheting up minimum sentences, a move projected to increase costs.

Prison reform, department of corrections, John Kasich, Rick Scott, Scott Walker, Maine, Joseph Ponte,
http://www.scribd.com/stanmoody, https://moodyreport.wordpress.com, prison-reform-goes-high-tech
 Prison reform in the US, with 25% of the world’s prisoners and only 5% of
its population, is way overdue. Technology may be one of a number of ways out of
this quagmire in which we find ourselves.
Emerging on the market at lease prices of $5 - $10 per day are tamper-proof
ankle bracelets operating on the GPS system and providing constant monitoring
with cell phone alerts. Not only does this hold promise as a boon to an understaffed
probation system, but it will be somewhat of a comfort to crime victims, many of
whom may be public service retirees stripped of their pensions.
When offenders violate a stay-away distance, the device sends an instant
alert signal to the victim and authorities as well as to the GPS's monitoring staff, on
call 24/7. Individual monitors can be programmed for home confinement and
approved patterns of daily movement.
It is hoped that this will lead to split sentencing favorable to select offenders
with shorter prison terms and longer probation periods. Other applications would
be to reduce the likelihood of re-offending upon release. As well, some employers
may be more willing to hire released offenders if they are being monitored.
The idea is not without its pitfalls, however, principal among which is Willy
Horton-type political backlash in the inevitable event of an ex-offender throwing
caution to the wind and violating while Big Daddy is watching.
The devices have been tweaked to detect drugs like marihuana and alcohol
through the skin and to signal when a user is attempting to tamper with the device.
Extreme ideas include detection of sexual arousal. The prospect of the police
raiding a suburban neighborhood to capture a guy popping a beer from his
refrigerator is daunting. More daunting is the prospect of a buzzer sounding in the
barber shop.
One of the most promising markets appears to be the bail market for less
violent, first time offenders. Courts may be more inclined to impose bail, avoiding
enormous costs and vastly reducing chances of reoffending while on bail.
The idea is not without interest on the part of government, where depending
on state employees for corrections service has become too unwieldy to sustain. As
a result, there are a handful of companies offering these ankle-monitoring devices
with mixed but growing reception.
Whether it is with high technology or private prisons, prison reform is
coming, with high recidivism rates and out-of-control budgets leading the charge.

Prison reform, department of corrections, John Kasich, Rick Scott, Scott Walker, Maine, Joseph Ponte,
http://www.scribd.com/stanmoody, https://moodyreport.wordpress.com, prison-reform-goes-high-tech