Should We Hide Inmates On Work Release Programs?

I occasionally go to The Jacksonville Landing for lunch at the food court since it is a couple of blocks from my office. Upon leaving the food court this past Thursday, I noticed several women wearing bright orange outfits with “Jail” emblazoned on the back performing work around The Landing (which sits on city property).

Since crime is more common in Florida’s 3^rd Congressional District (CD-3) than the other surrounding congressional districts due in part to high unemployment and poverty, I picked up a conversation with one of the inmates in an attempt to learn what led her to commit a crime. In the process of talking to the inmate, I learned that she coincidentally lives with her mother in the district. However, I did not have the opportunity to learn more because a fellow patron and fellow resident of CD-3 took offense of me having a conversation with the inmate thinking that I would place her in further trouble. The gentleman also shared with me that he thought the Sheriff Department's decision to place her and her fellow inmates on display via a work detail was bad because it could negatively impact the inmates’ morale.

While I respect his concern that I may have placed the inmate in further trouble, I see nothing wrong in a properly supervised work detail comprised of low risk inmates for several reasons, which are:
1. The inmates committed a crime and owe a debt to society. More specifically, taxpayer dollars are used to house criminals; therefore, why not use inmate labor to maintain city property?
2. Should not the visible display of a work detail made up of inmates serve as symbol to others that crime does not pay?

I rhetorically asked the gentleman should not our interest lie more in helping to prevent a crime from ever taking place than worrying about an inmate’s psyche?

Crime prevention requires a two-prong attack, the stick and the carrot (in other words, fear and desire). A work detail just happens to be the stick; it should induce fear that crime leads to unpleasant things for the perpetrator. The perpetrator may then have desire to find work, which arguably would lead to a more satisfying and enjoyable life. If the person cannot find work then we need to find out why. Typically, the reason is lack of a proper education. However, in this case, I never did find out the real reason because the work detail moved on.