My anti-prison stance grows stronger each year. Periodically, we’re treated to an academic report that announces that no matter what crime is studied, prisons just make better criminals. The ones showing how prisons turn non-violent drug users into violent thugs have been common since the 80’s. This new one on how prisons help build and shape gang populations is really special.
“We’re talking about 12-, 13-, 14-, 15-year-olds whose involvement in gangs is likely to be ephemeral unless they are pulled off the street and put in prison, where they will come out with much stronger gang allegiances,” said Judith Greene, co-author of “Gang Wars: The Failure of Enforcement Tactics and the Need for Effective Public Safety Strategies.”
The perspective of the gang investigator was telling, mostly for its bizarre imagery. “Thug-huggers” is what he called the academics who wrote the report. Incensed that someone might suggest that a jail is not the best place for a thief or a murderer, he suggests that the report advises “that we should spank them, put a diaper on them, pat them on the bottom, hug them and let them go”.
Apparently, the report culls out timeworn knowledge from the ancient cave-dwelling hippies of the 1960’s, suggesting that providing enough jobs and recreational activities in impoverished neighborhoods can virtually eliminate gang activity. No prisons needed. If, on the other hand, the actual goal was to prevent economic investment in minority neighborhoods, and to ensure continued stagnation into the future, we’ve done a heckuvajob.
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