Political Media Review – PMR

Jens Soering
Lantern Books (2004)
Reviewed by Stephen Ostertag, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology
Tulane University

In this short book, author Jens Soering outlines several prison myths that he says obscure our ability to take a rational, informed, and effective approach to incarceration in the U.S. Using the introductory chapter to highlight recent trends in crime, incarceration, recidivism, and prison expenditures (data from 2001 were the most recently available during the time of this writing) Soering dedicates the remaining chapters to discuss six prison myths that he argues cloud our understanding, judgment, and ultimately practices of incarceration. He hopes that by offering an insider’s perspective (Soering is currently housed in the Brunswick Correctional Center in Virginia) he may help spark a public discussion on the uses, costs, and also effectiveness of existing incarceration practices, especially on reducing and preventing violent and dangerous behaviors.

Soering targets the economic demands of the U.S. prison system (hovering around $55 billion annually) and questions whether U.S. tax payers receive social benefits above and beyond those that would come from investments in other areas, such as education. By focusing on the financial costs to tax-payers Soering downplays the moral arguments on incarceration and instead openly appeals to fiscal conservatives. He believes fiscal conservatives may be convinced that current incarceration practices are too costly and yield too little in the form of crime prevention, and so, are those most likely to challenge existing practices.

The bulk of Soering’s book focuses on critiquing six prison myths that he claims dominate public discussions on incarceration in the U.S. He dedicates one chapter to each myth. They are, 1) the myth that there is no problem regarding the cost and sustainability of current incarceration practices, 2) that prisons may be expensive but they prevent crime, 3) crime prevention does not work, 4) rehabilitation behind bars does not work, 5) there are no alternatives to prison, and 6) that there are no incentives to mislead people about prison. As he critiques these myths Soering draws on both international data (against which he compares U.S. crime rates and incarceration practices and expenses), and the insight he has accumulated from his 18+ years of experience as a prison inmate. Soering concludes the book with a chapter in which he predicts considerable challenges to incarceration practices to arise in the near future due to budget crises and once “law and order” conservative politicians changing their positions on incarceration. He then offers suggestions that citizens can do right now to work towards prison reforms.

I found Soering’s book particularly useful for two primary reasons. The first involves his unique insider’s perspective that allows him to talk as a participant observer, and the second involves the solutions he poses to cut the financial burden that prisons exert on tax payers.

Throughout the book, Soering draws on his insight as a prisoner in a maximum security prison to discuss other prisoners, prison guards, wardens, prison programs, and overall life in prison. His experience also informs the suggestions he offers in chapter 5, as he critiques the myth of no alternative to prison, and provides several useful substitutes. Here, Soering suggests investing in drug treatment programs rather than incarcerating drug offenders (p. 50-1), creating mental health courts (similar to drug courts) and mental health units instead of mixing the mentally ill in with the general prison population, where, he says, many are sexually and physically abused (p. 52-3), and refraining from housing juveniles in adult populations where they are often exploited and abused (p. 56-7). Soering also reflects on the power of even menial jobs at reducing tension and conflict inside the prison by giving prisoners a sense of purpose and rules they willfully obey. Further, as someone who’s found strength and answers in prayer, Soering notes the positive effects of faith-based programs on both presently incarcerated persons and their subsequent recidivism. These are just a number of the alternatives Soering offers the reader, they are rooted in his experience as a prisoner, and they are intended to appeal to both liberal and conservative audiences.

In the concluding chapter Soering offers some valuable suggestions for activists who wish to take direct action. Again, he intends to appeal to both liberals and conservatives. First, he suggests liberals use state courts (rather than legislatures) to argue that all prisoners be tested and treated for HIV/AIDS which are considerably higher among prisoners (e.g., 8.5% in New York State prisons compared to 0.3% among the U.S. civilian population). Soering believes the rationale should “not be that prisoners need medical attention…but that the general public must be protected from the spread of lethal diseases through inmates.” (p. 90). Second, and to appeal to conservatives, he argues for greater expansion of faith-based programs in state and the U.S. prison systems. Soering notes the Prison Fellowship Ministry’s TOP Program (p. 91) in particular.

Jens Soering’s 2004 book An Expen$ive Way to Make Bad People Worse: An Essay on Prison Reform (New York: Lantern Books), is insightful and well researched (he cites frequently from noted criminologists, peer-reviewed journals, and research centers). I believe it would be useful reading for prison activists and reformers of all political persuasions. It’d also be useful as a supplementary reader for criminology and criminal justice courses, especially those that cover recent scholarship on mass incarceration and its effects on disadvantaged neighborhoods.