Prison Reform is a much needed and long overdue concept that's necessary to ensure that the product the Dept. of Corrections releases back into society is better that the one it inherited. The reality is, most prisoners get out. Today, even life doesn't necessarily mean life. It's in everybody's best interest to ensure returning citizens have meaningful opportunities upon release. That work has to be done behind the walls.The DOC is entrusted to operate a three quarters of a billion dollar budget, virtually unchecked. There is zero "real" oversight. The kind of power gone unchecked, corrupts.Massachusetts prisons have seen a reduction in population by half, while a third of it's facilities have been shuttered. The remaining ones are left in disrepair and decay. During that same time, the DOC budget has doubled. At that rate, in five years this budget will exceed a billion dollars.Through sheer downsizing alone, things should have improved. Coincidentally, the only continued improvements we've seen are staff salaries and over- time. With an inmate to staff ratio below 2 to 1, amongst the lowest in the nation, it's apparent where the budget is being prioritized.I'm hoping this book enlightens people as to just how mismanaged the DOC is. A taxpayer funded state agency where such little is divulged to the taxpayer. Transparency and accountability should be given to ensure Public Safety. Success should be gauged by the products you produce and not by the size of employee paychecks.With over two million people incarcerated in the U.S., you'd be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't know somebody who's been involved with the criminal justice system in one way or another. This truly effects us all.
