2 ms·

> What would you do in response to the stated fact of "162% occupancy" ? Where are they supposed to put the 62% ? I'm not sure I understand all of your comment

by jMyles 11y ago

> What would you do in response to the stated fact of "162% occupancy" ? Where are they supposed to put the 62% ? I'm not sure I understand all of your comment, but the answer to this part is clear: release them and another 80% on top of them. Almost nobody (statistically speaking) in prison actually belongs there. > I wonder why any of them do it > I doubt that there's a penny of bonus money in play. You have discounted mental illness as an explainer. Some people who work in "corrections" exhibit signs of serious psychopathy, and the job seems to be a way of self-medicating.

sgt101 11y ago
>I'm not sure I understand all of your comment, but the answer to this part is clear: release them and another 80% on top of them. Almost nobody (statistically speaking) in prison actually belongs there I was flagging the challenge faced by administrators forced to deal with overcrowding. They do not have the mandate or authority to release any of their wards, but if they did I broadly agree with your approach. I would argue that there are numbers of people who should be in prison, but I agree that the USA and UK appear to incarcerate vastly more people than necessary. >You have discounted mental illness as an explainer. Some people who work in "corrections" exhibit signs of serious psychopathy, and the job seems to be a way of self-medicating. I am biased as my mother worked as a prison officer for a while and I met some of her work mates. They did not appear to be divergent from the population. I am sure that there are some people in the prison administration system who are evil or mad, there are people like that in all organisations, but I doubt that they have the sway that is being attributed to them in the OP. Evil and madness on the part of prison staff is not responsible for the great part of the suffering inflicted by the system.

by jMyles 11y ago

sgt101 11y ago

>I'm not sure I understand all of your comment, but the answer to this part is clear: release them and another 80% on top of them. Almost nobody (statistically speaking) in prison actually belongs there I was flagging the challenge faced by administrators forced to deal with overcrowding. They do not have the mandate or authority to release any of their wards, but if they did I broadly agree with your approach. I would argue that there are numbers of people who should be in prison, but I agree that the USA and UK appear to incarcerate vastly more people than necessary. >You have discounted mental illness as an explainer. Some people who work in "corrections" exhibit signs of serious psychopathy, and the job seems to be a way of self-medicating. I am biased as my mother worked as a prison officer for a while and I met some of her work mates. They did not appear to be divergent from the population. I am sure that there are some people in the prison administration system who are evil or mad, there are people like that in all organisations, but I doubt that they have the sway that is being attributed to them in the OP. Evil and madness on the part of prison staff is not responsible for the great part of the suffering inflicted by the system.