Why We Must Talk About North Country Prisons

Map of North Country Correctional Facilities & Prisons
(A prison is a type of CF)

There is one resident population in the Adirondack Park that receives little attention by the media and the general public: New York State criminals. I purposely used the word “criminals” instead of “inmates” because I wanted the negative connotations with the word "criminal" to come your mind. The topic of prisons is still quite taboo in American society and I believe that it is important for us to educate ourselves on the prison industry in America. Specifically, we must think critically about the implications of the prison industry in the Adirondacks.

Up through the late 1990s, there were about twenty state and federal correctional facilities operating in the Adirondacks or within a short drive of the Blue Line (Mann 2013). Their construction was a direct response to New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller’s tough-on-crime policies during the 1970s. Rockefeller’s aim to end the cocaine and heron epidemic in New York City had good intentions, however these harsh penalties had a negative consequences for the Adirondack Park.

 Tougher drug laws inevitably led to a surge in the New York State inmate population. From 1959 to 1999, the inmate population in New York exponentially grew from a population of fewer 20,000 to nearly 73,000 (Ibid. 2013). During this time period, state officials had a pressing needed to find new spaces to house these inmates and, therefore, they turned to the Adirondack region for cheap land. Senator Stafford, the Adirondack Park representative of the time, welcomed the prison industry and its economic benefits.

Federal Correctional Institution, Ray Brook (google.com)

Today, the presence of the prison industry is controversial. On the one hand, these correctional facilities have revived many local economies with prisons becoming one of the region’s largest employers. However, since NYS crime rates have decreased dramatically over the passed decade, the New York Corrections Department has started to downsize correctional facilities in the Park. Yet the downsizing plan was criticized by both the Adirondack Daily Enterprise and the Plattsburgh Press-Republican for its negative impacts on local economies.

The fundamental issue with these North Country prisons, in my opinion, is that they are primarily valued for their economic opportunities. While these facilities economically support some Adirondack communities, it is crucial that their operations are seen beyond a physical place to put inmates or a permanent source for jobs. Prison-reform advocate, Robert Gangi argues, “One of the problems of using incarceration as a jobs program is the fundamental immorality of it”(Mann 2013).

Inmates at Moriah Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility
(photo by Natasha Haverty)

The problem with viewing prisons solely in terms of their economic benefits is that this narrow perspective ignores ethical implications of the prison industry. For a prison to operate, it needs inmates. Therefore, by logic, prison directors actually want more inmates in their facility because they will increase profits. As a result, there is an economic incentive that directly opposes society’s goal to decrease incarceration. Some people debate that correctional facilities contribute to society because they rehabilitate inmates, but others argue that the history of the American justice system is characterized by retribution rather than rehabilitation. Whether or not this is true, I believe that the prison industry in the Adirondacks needs to be discussed more by the general public. These temporary residents in the Park should not be shunned by civil society nor should they be seen as economic pawns.

Works Cited

Mann, Brian. “North Country Prisons: Hard Times in ‘Siberia’ ”. Adirondack Almanack, 9 September 2013. Web. 11 April 2016. 

http://i0.wp.com/www.adirondackalmanack.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/prison-map.jpg

https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/rbk/