Raul Aranda post 6

This article comes from USA Today and is talks about how some jails in the nation are cutting costs by reducing the kind of mail inmates can receive to only postcards. The reason for this is in order to save money and strengthen security. Many are criticizing the policy even calling it “a very dumb policy.” The reason for the criticism is because by limiting inmate mail to just postcards, they are creating an even more secluded atmosphere. The article talks about research concerning the idea that the way to stay out of trouble is by having a job or staying in contact with family and being limited to postcards is going to make that very difficult. One jail professional said that of course these policies reduce costs, but by doing so they make it harder in supporting the transaction back into the community by placing such a limitation. Everything that was said against the policy makes complete sense to me because being in that sort of environment could become extremely taxing on any individual’s mind, but by constantly being written by someone on the ‘outside’, that person could maintain a sense of connection to the outside community. The control I see here seems to deal with transcarceration in that inmates are being placed under harsher conditions. Like the article stated, the best way to stay out of trouble was to get a job or stay in touch with family and if one of those is pretty much taken away, it almost makes it a given that many inmates will get into some sort of trouble. With the potential of more people getting into ‘trouble’, jails can keep the inmates even longer and have further control over the inmates, thus controlling the problematic members of society.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-12-09-jail-mail_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip