The Third of Three Ideas that could Transform Corrections....Victim Based Justice.

June 17, 2009 Madrid

Here is the last of the three ideas. For this one, I have to give credit to an old friend from high school, Dr. Ron Needham, who on hearing the first two ideas, gave me the kernel for this third one. I have added to what he suggested and at this point can't distinguish where his ideas left off and mine began. Suffice to say, without his input, this idea never would have happened.

Whereas the previous two ideas are simple and could be implemented without great cost or disruption, this idea requires a complete re-write of the Criminal Justice System - and so the probability of seeing this happen is beyond slim. Nevertheless, it is good sometimes to examine what might be possible in order to give direction to the evolution of the system.

Victim-Based Corrections - a system based on compensation to victims as the basis for incarceration. In this scheme, for every crime there is an identifiable victim. (If no victim can be identified, it isn't a crime. That would eliminate all of the people who self-medicate in order to tolerate their lives - so long as they don't steal a TV to support their medication. This part of the idea merits it's own essay, but let's stay on topic). If there is a victim, then there is a financial cost that can be assessed in order to restore the victim to his/her condition before the crime. The first phase of a criminal trial is the same as it is now - the establishment of guilt. But in the second phase, arguments are heard to establish a dollar amount of compensation required to make the victim "whole" again. In the case of murder, that is likely to be a very large amount.

Once a restitution amount is set, the convicted criminal either is granted probation to allow him/her to pay restitution while working in the community or is sentenced to prison. In the first case, probation remains in effect until restitution is paid and perhaps longer.

In the event the offender is sentenced to prison, he will not be released until the restitution is paid, no matter how long that might take. In the reception facility, he is given the opportunity to apply for work within the prison system. Vocational tests are available to help him evaluate his own skills and to demonstrate them to potential employers (within the system). More on employment in a minute....

I digress to note however that "will not be released" does not necessarily mean permanently living within concrete walls. There is no reason why prisoners who have demonstrated success at their jobs and lives could be transferred to sleep in half-way houses or other forms of independent living as they progress through the program. Now, back to the main theme...

At this point, I illuminate another key element of this plan - the partnership between corrections and business. Almost every prison would be built around a work facility (or multiple work facilities) run for profit by American businesses. But where would all the jobs come from? Well, most of them would come home from Mexico, China, Thailand, etc. where they had previously been "outsourced". The prisoners would earn less than they would earn in a comparable job outside the prison in order to make the program attractive to businesses. But the earnings would still be sufficient to make good progress on the restitution account. The discussion of how to make this attractive to business while still benefiting the inmates would create a very long essay on it's own, but for today let's just touch on it lightly.

The inmates, once "hired", move into residence into the facility attached to their work location. They are oriented and begin working. But before they can put money into their restitution accounts, they have to pay their room and board! (Yes, the prison system is intended to be "revenue-neutral"!) And next, they have to pay child support for any children that they may have left behind them. And then finally, money goes into their restitution account. Of course, there are other ways that they may chose to use their money. Educational programs would be available in the evening should they wish to improve their skills. By so doing, they could ultimately get themselves promoted and thereby earn more money in the long run.

So now we have a link between successful employment and ultimately being released through payment of restitution. The most important purpose of this is to finally provide socialization to a class of individuals who do not know how to function as non-Outlaws or who have chosen not to function as non-Outlaws. The inmates would have to get themselves up every morning, report to work, and deal with the kind of frustrations that work produces - boredom, work politics, acceptance of the authority of those whom one may not respect, etc. Thus far in their lives, they have not been able to do these things. They may be profoundly uneducated and may need their night school to qualify for anything more than menial work. Outside prison, Outlaw activity was far more attractive, but now they must actually confront and become successful at behavior that is actually functional.

In short, they are forced to behave in a way that would work for them when they are free. It may not be easy for them. Their employers are free to fire, demote, or otherwise discipline the workers just as they would outside the prison. If fired, they have to go back to the reception facility and apply for another job. They can also be returned to the reception facility for demonstrating the kind of behavior now seen conventional prisons - aggressive behavior toward other inmates or staff or any of a number of Outlaw behaviors.

Another benefit: when the inmate finally pays off his restitution account, he has already got an employment track record and references. He might chose to remain with his current employer, but as a free person now. Otherwise, he can seek another job, but he knows how to do it and knows how to function in a work environment. Those with limited contact with Outlaws may not appreciate how hard it is for them to function in a conventional setting.

For those who have some experience with our current system, you know that there are a certain number of hard cases who want nothing more than to get some new tattoos, lift weights, and play prison games generally. Fine, for those types there would be maximum security prisons like California's Pelican Bay facility. There they can go and act like prison goons all day long. However, they make no progress on their restitution accounts and every day they are going deeper into debt on their room and board. And so, it is unlikely that they will be seen on the streets anytime in the foreseeable future. And that is how it should be. These are people who have chosen antisocial behavior as a way of life.

But for the rest of the inmate population, without the pressure from the goons, the gang activity goes away. The only kind of behavior that gets an inmate released is functional behavior, work, and payment of restitution debt. Suddenly inmates are receptive to counselling and education. It could be possible in the last portion of an inmate's residence to have his family join him in a special family housing area, thereby making the entire family available for services (at a cost, of course).

There are many more possibilities than I have sketched out here, but at the very least we are talking about a prison system that only releases inmates who have demonstrated their ability to function as a non-Outlaw and who have actual job skills, leading to a much higher probability of social success. In addition, the cost of operating prisons would be less due to the requirement for inmates to pay for services provided by the system. Business would benefit by having a work force available in the US and a steady stream of trained employees on a career path. Unions, in industries typically unionized like the Electricians' Union, could provide training programs within the institution to prepare future union members.

And the fact that victims are compensated for their losses adds a whole new dimension to the idea of Criminal Justice. I realize that I have asked you to put on rose-colored glasses for this conversation, but so did Martin Luther King 40 years ago, and look who is our president!