National Prison Commission Releases Final Report, Makes Recommendations

WASHINGTON — After more than a year of examining issues that affect prisons and jails throughout the United States, a national commission released its findings and recommendations for review by congressional leaders and facility administrators.


The 126-page report from the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons makes numerous recommendations on a variety of issues, including limiting the use of segregation and confinement, eliminating inmate co-payments for health care and establishing independent oversight.


The report was created after four public hearings, held throughout the United States from April 2005 to February 2006. The 20-member nonpartisan commission includes a variety of stakeholders, from prison officials to inmate advocates. Its recommendations are nearly as diverse — from steps that can be taken at correctional facilities to changes that would require federal legislation — as those that authored them.


“There’s something for everyone and I think too often we forget that change and reform doesn’t require two houses of Congress and the president’s signature to happen,” said Alexander Busansky, executive director of the commission, during a phone conference.


Implementing the recommendations will be tough, but commission co-chair Nicholas de B. Katzenbach, a former U.S. attorney general, is hoping others will pick up where the commission left off.


“It’s always difficult when you are dealing with 50 different states and the federal government,” Katzenbach says.


He said an important factor with many of the recommendations is funding.


“You can’t put a lot of people in jail and expect to get results,” Katzenbach says. “It costs money to put them there. It costs a lot of money. You want to think about what you are getting for the money that you spend on people in jail.”


Reducing recidivism, even if it is only slightly, could provide valuable dollars for facilities, he says.


“If you can reduce it even by a small amount, you save a lot of money,” Katzenbach says.


Orange County, Fla., Chief of Corrections Timothy Ryan says the report has already captured the interest of many corrections officials (See page 13 for more on Ryan’s experience with the commission).


“We’ve already had a great deal of interest on the part of correctional professionals,” Ryan says. “The commission met with the American Correctional Association leadership and the American Jail Association leadership, plus leaders from across the nation because they have a definite interest in this.”


Ryan said those who disagree with some recommendations would probably contest the report, but regardless it should spur improvements.


“I’m sure it will be challenged at times at places of concern, but that very interest in taking a look at it means that we have the possibility of significant change as well as the opportunity to make that a very positive change,” he says.