This is the second part of our Interview with author and writer Les Edgerton. See Part 1 below (An Interview With HOOKED Author: Les Edgerton).
He has interesting things to share on how we can better manage our prison systems.
Provide real rehabilitation that leads to a real and good-paying job, not being a dishwasher or fry cook. There is virtually no rehabilitation these days and it's a big reason why people come back more than they ever have.
Get rid of those prisons as businesses located in other states. An inmate from Connecticut, sitting in a prison in Texas has lost his entire support system. Not to mention, many of them just warehouse prisoners and let them vegetate in a cell 23 hours a day.
Educate the politicians and media who have created all kinds of problems by scaring people about criminals unrealistically and without factual basis for their claims. Be aware that no matter where the institution is, doing time is never easy for anyone. "Lock 'em up and throw away the key" is a moronic concept. I guess that's why politicians and the media use it so much—they're infinitely qualified to espouse on moronic ideas.
Spend more money on good mental institutions and separate the folks with mental problems from bona fide criminals. I'd guess that at least 60% (and probably more) of those incarcerated aren't really criminals in the traditional sense, but are mentally ill. The state just feels it's cheaper to warehouse them in prisons than provide mental health care.
Develop decent libraries. If funds are an issue, take the money spent on teaching them to get a G.E.D. and spend it on more books. People will (truly) educate themselves if they have sufficient books available. Getting a G.E.D. "looks" like an education, but it's b.s.
Make prisons safe for inmates. Being sent to an environment where chances are excellent you'll be assaulted or raped constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in every way and is unconstitutional.
Get wardens/superintendents out of the food business. Most are given a monthly budget for inmate meals and if they come under, they get to keep the rest. I don't think any of them use even close to the budgeted amount.
Police inmates working in the dentist's and doctor's offices better. In case you don't know it, they're stealing the Novocain and other drugs and watering them down. It's why nobody wants to go to the dentist—who wants your tooth pulled when your gums have been deadened with saline?
Get women out of male institutions, at least in population. That's the nuttiest idea so-called "progressives" ever came up with. Just makes doing time a thousand times harder. Give those women jobs holding the flag at construction sites. (Am I being a male chauvinist hog? Sorry!)
If you're going to "lock 'em up and throw away the key" at least provide a bed for each inmate.
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