Tracking the Recession: Prison Economics

Report Read time:
Tracking the Recession: Prison Economics

The Sullivan Annex, a minimum-security state prison perched on a slope above a fishing creek here in the foothills of upstate New York, is an unlikely political battleground.

A perimeter fence with no barbed wire surrounds the tree-lined complex, which holds two single-story brick dormitories. Inmates in dark-green garb, most convicted of minor offenses, frequently leave the grounds to paint, pick up litter and do other jobs in this rural community about two hours north of Manhattan. A swing set on a spacious patch of grass keeps inmates' children busy when they visit.

Despite the serene appearance—a stark contrast to the barbed-wire-enclosed maximum-security prison just up the road—the Sullivan Annex is at the center of a pitched struggle between state officials on one hand and the powerful New York correctional officers' union and local leaders on the other.

Hammered by the recession and trying to squeeze money out of every state agency, New York is closing the Sullivan Annex and nine other minimum- and medium-security prison facilities by Oct. 1 to save an estimated $52 million over two years.

Read the full report Tracking the Recession: Prison Economics on Stateline.org.

America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up

MORE FROM PEW

A worker in a seafood market dumps bright orange shrimp from a blue bin onto a bed of ice between a lot of other seafood laid out for sale. Other workers are visible in the background, as are the arms of shoppers placing orders from the other side of the ice bed. Seafood Industry Benefits From Greater Vessel Transparency
An aerial view of a vast wetland, with scattered vegetation visible on sandy islands. In Western Australia, a Conservation Model for the World
A presentation being given by a businesswoman to a group of participants at a business conference. Four Plan Features Can Boost 'Retirement Readiness'
A large group of people in formal or traditional attire stands together on a stage, with a digital background depicting marine life and the large text “WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.” WTO Needs to Redouble Its Effort on Fishing Subsidies
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics
Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?

Pills illustration
Pills illustration

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

Sign up for our four-week email series The Race Against Resistance.
Quick View
Pills illustration

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.