Hawaii has too many men and women in prison. It’s not that they shouldn’t be there. They probably should be in prison for whatever crimes they committed.
The problem is that so many of Hawaii’s men and women go into prison in the first place. The cost is staggering, often estimated at over $30,000 per year, per inmate. The number of prison inmates is growing at an alarming rate, too, around 4-percent per year in Hawaii since 2000, 20-percent faster than the national average.
Why?
It would be interesting to see the difference in prison inmate numbers as a percentage of population between states where the cost of living is high vs. those near average vs. those states well below average.
Hawaii has over 2,200 people who guard Hawaii’s over 5,500 prison inmates. That’s two inmates for each job. $12 and shipping costs will get you a book about profiting from prisoners, “Prison Profiteers: Who Makes Money From Mass Incarceration.”
Apparently, prisons are big business. Not for taxpayers, but for businesses which use the cheap labor found in prisons. Being in prison in paradise cannot be a good experience for anyone, though victims of violence or theft may not agree. What can be done to help offset the cost of maintaining Hawaii’s prisons?
When local prisoners are sent to prisons on the mainland does Hawaii get a cut of whatever labor revenue they bring in?
HawaiiBlogger's Comment Policy: Keep your comment on topic, relevant, worthy, and funny. Or, pick any three. Be pleasant, helpful, and only use your real name. Comments are moderated and will not appear immediately (* required).