We need to demand a publicly accessible audit. The fact prisons don't even have to accurately report the number of inmate deaths they have to anyone with decision making power highlights how crazy the situation currently is.<p>Federal prisons are starting the process of leaving private contracts which is great. We need to force all states to do the same. Personal freedom needs to be free from market pressures and money. In az there was recently an inmate management software update which was rushed for financial reasons. A whistleblower recently revealed the software is unable to handle certain laws causing people to stay imprisoned possibly 2x longer than the law requires.
I think this report is where the information comes from (specifically the mouse over on the second graph):<p><a href="https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/nyc-department-of-correction/" rel="nofollow">https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/nyc-department-of-correc...</a><p>It paints a very different picture than the headline as we have all read it.<p>One might interpret the headline as out of control spending. The break down of cost per inmate seems outrageous and supports that idea... but what really seems to have happened is a reduction of inmate population without a corresponding reduction in employees. I would guess things are most explained by not wanting to take away people's livelihoods and increase unemployment.<p>Is "prison population reduced by 50% while employees remain constant" anywhere near as outrageous of an interpretation?"<p>Should we fire 10% of the DOC workforce every year?
It’s a shame the article doesn’t offer any hints as to why. I’m sure that we can point the finger at lobbyists and grift, but a big spike in 2020 probably is COVID related?
One of the chief takeaways of the 19th century (not just in the United States, but around the world) seems to be lost on us today: slavery is expensive.<p>What we have here is a system wherein cheap labor is provided to the war machine, but the accoutrements of the bondage are exorbitant, so these costs are spread across society. It's the economics of the fugitive slave laws all over again.
> The city is spending more on inmates despite a drop in the number of incarcerations during the pandemic, the report said<p>Isn't this going to cause the price per inmate to go up?