{"id":1392,"date":"2018-01-11T11:30:54","date_gmt":"2018-01-11T15:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bard.edu\/mba\/?p=1392"},"modified":"2018-09-21T19:07:27","modified_gmt":"2018-09-21T23:07:27","slug":"greening-u-s-prisons-can-help-slow-jail-churn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bard.edu\/mba\/2018\/01\/11\/greening-u-s-prisons-can-help-slow-jail-churn\/","title":{"rendered":"Greening U.S. Prisons Can Help Slow “Jail Churn”–By Sara Hicks"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Source: Prison Policy Initiative<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The <\/span>Prison Policy Initiative<\/span><\/a> creates a yearly pie chart that details the makeup of the U.S. prison system. In 2017, <\/span>2.3 million U.S. citizens were imprisoned in 5,961 facilities nationwide,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>ranging from Indian Country Jails to Federal and State prisons. About a quarter were imprisoned for nonviolent drug crimes (including 7,200 youth), and 16,000 for nonviolent immigration charges.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following their incarceration, a staggering portion of these inmates will then get caught in <\/span>\u201c<\/b>jail churn,\u201d officially known as recidivism. Many of those released from the prison system come right back. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Being confined with other criminals for years at a time creates psychological damage and social stunting. So, although there are education, early release, and job training programs in place in prisons, the system continues to expand. There’s been a<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>500% increase in the last 40 years<\/span>, according to <\/span>The Sentencing Project<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/i><\/b>One Answer is Green<\/b><\/h3>\n

Countless problems need addressing throughout the system, but one approach that can help is to make prisons more green. Although the United States is the global leader in incarceration,\u00a0<\/span>the prison system also offers real opportunity for betterment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Going green can help prevent “jail churn” in two important ways:<\/p>\n

(1) Mental Environment:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>Universities from the University of <\/span>Minnesota<\/span><\/a> to <\/span>Stanford<\/span><\/a>, as well as organizations like <\/span>GreenPeace<\/span><\/a>, have carried out studies showing the linkage between human well being and nature. It’s clear that daily\u00a0<\/span>exposure to the natural environment reduces symptoms of anxiety, stress and even depression<\/span>. In correctional facilities, one of the most \u201cviolent and stressful environments,\u201d it’s especially needed. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is particularly true for inmates held in solitary confinement.\u00a0<\/span>Statistics show that the more than 80,000 inmates each year who spend time in solitary confinement are <\/span>more likely to commit violent crimes during the jail churn.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the Snake River Correctional Facility in Oregon, a\u00a0<\/span>study<\/span><\/a> concluded that even providing nature films to the inmate population in solitary confinement provides far better psychological outcomes for them. The practice earned the prison a\u00a0Time Magazine<\/a>\u00a0award for\u00a0<\/span>\u201cOne of the 25 Best Inventions of 2014.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

(2) Job Prospects for Released Inmates:<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>Howard Husock, vice president for policy research at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research,\u00a0<\/span>notes<\/span><\/a>,\u201cIf people get drawn back into the real world, get a job and make a living, studies show they\u2019ll be less likely to go back to prison.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Airway Heights Corrections Center, main garden. Source: Sustainability in Prisons Project<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Environmental training programs can play a major role in reducing jail churn, transforming both the prison system and the communities most affected by the system. <\/span><\/p>\n

A prime example<\/a> <\/span>is the San Quentin’s Insight Prison Garden Program. San Quentin partners with Planting Justice to provide master gardener training to inmates while they’re incarcerated, as well as to offer job placement after release. \u00a0The training qualifies the formerly-incarcerated individuals for <\/span>$17\/hour jobs<\/span> that not only increase opportunities for them upon release, but also reduces food deserts and creates more appealing and productive green space, replacing lawns with gardens.<\/span><\/p>\n

Plus, the necessary steps for going green are in place, with resources like <\/span>CorrectionsOne<\/span><\/a> (an online corrections resource) and templates for success like <\/span>Sustainability in Prisons Project<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0The <\/span>National Institute of Justice<\/span><\/a>\u00a0also provides guidelines to follow and programs to benchmark against.<\/span><\/p>\n

Green Prisons Also Make Financial Sense<\/h3>\n

As the U.S. prison system expands, it’s also becoming more expensive. As Eve Tahmincioglu, an award-winning labor and career columnist for msnbc.com, <\/span>states<\/span><\/a>:\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThe cost of housing, feeding and providing medical care for America’s prison population has surged over the past two decades, from $11 billion a year to more than $50 billion.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Again, going green can help.<\/p>\n

In CorrectionsOne’s blog post <\/span>7 steps to save $1,000 per inmate by \u201cgoing green,\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/a>\u00a0author Paul Sheldon describes how more efficient lighting, HVAC units, plug-in appliances, motors and pumps, and water\/waste systems, can save a correctional facility an average of $1,000 per inmate. Sheldon explains that there’s an abundance of third-party financiers willing to front the cost and be repaid by sharing in the savings that result from implementing these \u201clow-hanging fruit\u201d sustainability initiatives. <\/span><\/p>\n

Robust standards and frameworks offer guidance for correctional facilities wishing to adopt such changes:<\/span><\/p>\n