U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke at a conference for the International Association of Chiefs of Police in Nashville, TN on Thursday, his focus, increasing the prison population!
You would think that government would be more interested in decreasing prison population, wouldn’t you?
The federal prison population has decreased from 220,000 to 180,000 over the past few years. To me, that would seem like a good thing, we’re getting a handle on crime and fairer sentencing. What part of that doesn’t Mr. Sessions get? He wants to pursue “longer” sentences, and his reasoning is rather perplexing. Mr. Sessions stated “We’ve got some space to put some people, we need to reverse a trend that suggested that criminals won’t be confronted seriously with their crimes.”
Really? When was it ever “suggested” that criminals wouldn’t be punished for their crimes? Does the idea that those in former administrations came to their senses and realized that maybe, just maybe, some of the punishments we’ve dealt out over the years were a bit too harsh for the crimes committed mean that they weren’t punished? No, it doesn’t. It means that justice was dealt out the way it was meant to be dealt out, fairly.
Clearly since Mr. Sessions was presenting his speech to a group of law enforcement officials, he must have been looking for a laugh from his audience.
Sir, you are not a comedian!
Sessions also wants to pursue mandatory minimum sentences, he thinks that’s a “step in the right direction.” Can someone please tell this man that he is moving backwards.
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At least now we know where our U.S. Attorney General stands, in his mind there are only two types of people, violent criminals and law-abiding citizens.
Can you guess in which of these two categories he will place those with sex offenses?
I think this is a good time to remind people of something that is obvious, but often overlooked: The management of the criminal justice system, at every level, is a for-profit business. Nothing more; nothing less. People often talk about how “private prisons” are evil for-profit businesses. While that’s certainly true, we forget that all other aspects of the criminal justice system are not different. In California-Stan, prison guards make an absolutely obscene amount of money. Many of these people barely made it out of high school, could not operate in a normal employment situation where mutual respect and dignity are required, and are sociopaths. Elected representatives all over the country get hired by the voters, and then retain power for decades, by getting “tough on crime”. There are entire towns and cities all over the country that would not even exist if it weren’t for the prisons that are nearby. It’s all about the money folks. Always has been; always will be. We have a document called the Constitution. Our elected representatives and law enforcement people swear to protect and defend it when they get hired/elected. Then they spend the rest of their careers using that same document for toilet paper. At the most basic level, money is made (six figures per year easily) by the prison guards. Money is made by the businesses in various communities that grow up around prisons. Money is made by the elected folks who secure funding to “keep our communities safe”. Money is made by those in the District Attorney’s offices who hire lawyers to go after “dangerous criminals”. Money is made by Public Defenders and privately hired lawyers to defend said “dangerous criminals”. Money is made by cities and counties who have inmates in their jurisdictions. Did you know that the US Census includes prison populations? In the Central and San Joaquin Valleys of California, there are prisons all over the place. Why? Because they support the local economies. By boosting the “population” of a particular city, more money from local, state, and federal sources pours in. Without these boots to the economy, many of these places would be ghost towns. The people who live in these towns vote for representatives who supply money to the economy via funding for the prison industrial complex. The “therapy programs” that we all know so much about are profit-driven cash flow powerhouses. The people who run them and work for them make a fortune on the forced servitude of their “clients”. It goes on, and on, and on, and on. Everything from a barber shop in Wasco, California-Stan to the maid that cleans the house of a DA in Mendocino County, to the funding that comes to law enforcement in general, all over the country, is due in large part to mass incarceration. It’s all about the money. Why do I bring this up? Because we all -including me- spend time talking about attacking this problem because it isn’t fair, or because it violates our rights under the Constitution, or because (in the case of RSO’s) it doesn’t work to promote public safety in any way, or because vigilantes are actively targeting us, or because there is empirical evidence that suggests our entire approach to public safety in this country is misguided at best, and flat out wrong at worst……..Here’s a news flash folks: Nobody cares. Not at all. Not one bit. Never, ever, ever. They don’t care. The prison industrial complex is all about money. Money with a side helping of power-hungry politicians who know exactly how to play into people’s fears, is how we wound up here. I encourage all of us to keep this in mind. If we approach this problem with that “what’s right” argument, we will fail every time. Need proof? The amendment to 290 PC last year is an overwhelming scam. We got suckered. Yes, I am aware that some registrants -may- have an opportunity to ask the courts for permission to be removed at some point down the road. That doesn’t mean permission will be granted. And those who just jammed this scam down our throats knew that they were potentially taking money away from themselves by reducing the overall size of the registry, so guess what? Problem solved! They simply did a bait and switch. They took tens of thousands of people who were considered “not dangerous” one day, and made them Tier 3 “super-dangerous-must-be-watched-at-all-times” registrants, with the stroke of a pen. By doing this, they ensured the cash flow will continue. We need to approach this from a business perspective. It has to be about the money. It’s about the money for the other side. So it doesn’t matter what’s right or wrong, what’s fair, or what does or does not violate the Constitution. The money is what matters. If we have any chance of overcoming this scam, we need to at least be talking about the same things with the other side. They have to see how they can make, or save, money. They have to see how they can continue to make money and retain power and influence over the people who vote. They have to justify to the barber shop owner in Wasco, California-Stan, who cuts the hair of every guard at the prison, that it’s still okay to vote for them. So, there’s the problem my friends. It’s really not that complicated. The solution is a lot more challenging though. I don’t have all the answers. I may have some. But the timing and execution of the solutions is tricky. It is my humble suggestion that we collectively attack this problem from a money and power perspective. If we don’t, things like the giant bait-and-switch scam of 2017 will continue to happen.
If they can close prisons why can’t we?
https://www.fastcompany.com/3067771/the-netherlands-keeps-closing-prisons-because-it-doesnt-have-enough-prisoners
Five prisons in the Netherlands were marked for closure in 2016. That follows eight closures of prisons in 2009 and 19 in 2014. Because there are fewer and fewer inmates to put in the cells, the Netherlands’ jails are just too costly to run. It’s not a bad problem to have, unless you’re one of the 1,900 prison workers losing their jobs.
The drop in supply of prisoners is because of two factors. One is that simply fewer crimes are being committed. Rates are falling around 0.9% per year. This, says the Dutch News, means 3,000 prison cells and 300 youth detention places will not longer be needed by 2021. Former justice minister Ard van der Steur said that serious crimes are less frequent, and that judges are imposing shorter sentences for those that are convicted.
Another article
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/16/europe/humane-prison-greenland/index.html
“humane prison” — a correctional facility that emphasizes rehabilitating criminals through positive design, rather than punishment.
Exponents of the “humane prison” philosophy believe that if prisons mimic the conditions of normal life, as far as is possible, offenders have a greater chance of successful reintegration into society, and less chance of re-offending.
Let’s start a petition to have him Resign! It is clear to most people that his view would put this country on a Backwards path, which means further destruction of families and society. If someone can put together his Backwards Views and the Facts that disprove it, I am sure we can get millions of people with intelligent minds to sign the petition.