November 22, 2009
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May / June 2005
Hannah Lobel Utne magazine 
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Lower crime rates mean fewer people in jail, and for cash-strapped states that's a big draw. A handful of states have changed parole and sentencing policies for nonviolent offenders and invested in recidivism-reduction programs like job training and drug treatment. And keeping ex-cons out of prison has even become a pet project of the 'compassionate conservatives.' When Senator Sam Brownback, a Republican from Kansas, quizzed Alberto Gonzales during the attorney general's confirmation hearing about his plans to keep former jailbirds crime-free, Gonzales responded that recidivism was an issue close to President George W. Bush's heart.

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Under Bush, however, several federal financial agencies have enacted or proposed changes to roll back regulations in the Community Reinvestment Act, the federal law that forces banks to offer fair loans to low- and moderate-income borrowers -- the program that drives the mortgage lending that has kept people out of prison.

What's more, a recent online article from ZNet (Feb. 2005) reports that buried in the massive Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act passed last December is a two-paragraph provision calling for at least 40,000 new immigrant detention beds by 2010. Resistance to imprisoning hordes of Americans may be on the rise, but, as writer Bob Libal suggests, in a post-9/11 world the ever-profitable prison industry may have found a new avenue for growth.

TELL ME MORE
Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility
To learn more about this organization, or to sign its boycott pledge (all are welcome), visit www.adpsr.org/prisons

360 Degrees
At www.360degrees.org you can click on 'Dialogue' and join online forums on different facets of the U.S. criminal justice system. Learn more about the history of prisons under 'Timeline.'

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