“Jails are NOT profit centers,”
Who says they aren’t? If anything alleviates the taxpayer’s and makes these scumbags work and be self-dependent, why not?
Well, I can sure see profiting by their labor vs profiting by their bill of services given them on leaving.
Maybe it would be better than saying that they aren’t slaves as the article did to say that they aren’t guests at the Hyatt Regency? Or even the Days Inn?
So one might opine that they shouldn’t be paying more than Motel 6 prices, which would still leave some meat on the bone for minimum security jails.
Some can make it work and I believe it can be a positive for the inmates.
http://www.thedogpress.com/SideEffects/Sheriff-Joe-Arpaio_BJ-09-148.asp
TheDogPress.com learned that Maricopa County was spending $18 million dollars a year on rounding up, housing and/or destroying stray cats and dogs. Sheriff Joe offered to take over the department and the County Supervisors said okay. Arpaio took the 30 year old First Avenue jail that was no longer used for inmates and outfitted it for dogs. Sure, his critics opened fire, charging him with keeping inmates in tents and dogs in air-conditioned comfort. He just shrugged it off, staffed the animal shelter with model prisoners who looked forward to feeding and caring for the saaved strays. Today Sheriff Joe has prisoners who are trained in animal nutrition, care, and behavior and they give classes for anyone who’d like to adopt an animal.
He’s made many changes, among them quickly dropping an $18 million dollar Sheriff’s department budget to under $3 million most of which is for utilities, building maintenance, etc. One writer said “Teresa and I adopted a Weimaraner from a Maricopa County shelter two years ago. He was neutered, and current on all shots, in great health, and even had a microchip inserted the day we got him. Cost us $78.” Sheriff Arpaio pays prisoners out of fees collected for adopted animals.