Fact or Fiction

Fiction:

Prison work programs don't do anything more than keep the inmates busy and out of trouble.

Fact:

FPI Helps Lower Rate of Recidivism.

Inmates who worked in prison industries or completed vocational and apprenticeship programs were 24% less likely to recidivate and 14% more likely to be gainfully employed.

Even before they are released from prison, inmates who participate in the FPI program have better social skills and fewer behavior problems when compared to inmates who are not participants.

Fiction:

Inmates gamble away anything they earn or spend it all on cigarettes. It would be better if they had nothing to do.

Fact:

Productivity Fostered by FPI Benefits Everyone.

In Fiscal Year 2006, for example, inmates contributed $2.6 million in earnings to financial obligations such as court-ordered fines, child support, and/or restitution.

Reducing inmate idleness decreases the risk of violence, escapes and other disruptions that ultimately lead to higher costs for taxpayers.

$ 2.6 million in earnings collected for fines, family support and victim restitution.

Fiction:

Federal prison industries programs are a waste of tax dollars.

Fact:

The Taxpayer Does Not Foot the Bill for FPI Programs.

UNICOR is self-sustaining and operates at no cost to the taxpayer. In Fiscal Year 2006, UNICOR purchased over $552 million in raw materials, supplies, equipment and services - and 74% from small businesses, including businesses owned by women, minorities, and those who are disadvantaged.

Salaries and benefits for staff, factory equipment, as well as compensation for the inmates, all come out of the revenue generated by the sale of FPI products and services.

Fiction:

Prison industries hurts business and industry by cutting into their profits.

Fact:

FPI Does More to Help the Private Sector Than Hurt It.

FPI is not a business - it's a correctional program. It only sells its products to the federal government, it does limited advertising, and it focuses primarily on labor-intensive activities in order to provide more inmates with skills and work experience. Plus, FPI's purchase of services and materials, primarily from smalll business, is good for the private sector.

The real product that FPI turns out is a productive citizen who can return to society as a law-abiding taxpayer because of the skills and experience they have gained.

Fiction:

FPI isn't really an essential program. We can get by without it.

Fact:

A Prison System Without FPI is a Security Risk We Cannot Afford.

If there were no prison factory programs, the negative ripple effect would be devastating. With no means to learn work habits and job skills, recidivism would rise, which in turn inflates the cost to taxpayers, and well as a human cost to potential victims of crime. Restitution to victims and the payment of fines would be severely compromised. Increased idleness opens prisons to much greater safety and security breaches.

At some point, virtually all of these inmates will return to our communities and need to find gainful employment. FPI can help them make this transition and become tax payers rather than tax users.