PRISONS : Inmate Jobs Offer Long-Term Payoff to Society, Study Finds

Federal prisoners who voluntarily participated in work and vocational training programs during their incarceration were better able to hold jobs after release and less likely to commit another crime or parole violation than other former inmates, a new Federal Bureau of Prisons study found.

With the number of inmates in the federal prisons steadily increasing and recidivism rates--measures of repeat criminal offenses or parole violations--holding steady, some experts argue that voluntary work and vocational projects in prison are the key to rehabilitating inmates, that such activities will help them cope in society and perhaps even ease prison overcrowding.

A dissenting voice comes, however, from some small businesses and labor unions. They say prison industries have an unfair advantage in competing for government contracts, and may be driving small businesses under and taking jobs from law-abiding citizens.

BACKGROUND: The study represented the first large-scale effort to support the notion, long held among experts, that work and vocational training have positive effects on inmates, Bureau of Prisons Director Michael Quinlan said.

Conducted from 1983 through 1987, it looked at former prisoners who had participated in prison work programs, received vocational training in prison or both. It compared their progress after release with that of members of a group of prisoners with similar educational, occupational and criminal backgrounds.

About 14,000 of the 57,000 inmates in the federal prison system now work under the auspices of Federal Prison Industries. Also known as UNICOR, the program was created by Congress in 1934. It often competes with private-sector businesses to sell its products to the government, mainly the Defense Department.

UNICOR manufactures a variety of goods, ranging from helmets, tents and components for military equipment to clothing, furniture and electronics. To avoid unfair competition with small businesses, it is prohibited by Congress from concentrating on any one product.

The self-sustaining program operates at no cost to taxpayers and allows inmates to use their earnings to pay fines, restitution and family support.

THE FINDINGS: The study found that inmates who participated in the program were better adjusted in prison and better able to adjust to the community after they were released.

They also were more likely to be employed, and many of them earned more than former inmates of similar backgrounds who had not taken part in the program.

Only 6.6% of the inmates who had participated in the programs had been arrested again or violated parole terms by the end of the first year, in contrast to 10.1% of the comparison group.

The report said 71.7% of the study group was still employed at the end of the first year after release, against 63.1% of the control group.

Furthermore, the study found the average monthly pay of former inmates who had participated in prison programs to be about $820 at the end of their first year after release, compared to an average of $770 among those who had not.

A Bureau of Justice Statistics study in 1983 found somewhat higher recidivism rates among those released from state prisons, which generally house more violent offenders than federal prisons, Lawrence Greenfeld of the statistics bureau said.

OUTLOOK. With the federal prison population on the rise, the number of inmates willing to participate in labor programs far exceeds the number of positions available, and a large-scale expansion of the program is not likely soon, Quinlan said.

John Zalusky, head of the AFL-CIO’s department of wages and industrial relations, said the labor organization supports prison industries to the extent that they help prepare inmates to rejoin society, but they should not have negative effects on the private sector.

Quinlan said the program might be expanded “if we could find markets or products not already produced in the United States or services that wouldn’t jeopardize opportunities for those that haven’t violated the law. But we don’t want to do it at the cost of anyone who is selling products to the government.”