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Show A view inside the Utah state prison By Dr. L. Wayne Reid On September 5, the Utah State Advisory Board for Vocational Education met for their monthly meeting inside the confines of the Utah State Prison at the Point of the Mountain. The major purpose was to review the various vocational rehabilitation programs within the institution. Led by Chairperson, Sue Marie Young, Young Construction Company, and Executive Director Jack C. Higbee, the group is well represented by "key" people from throughout the state. In addition to myself, representing the Society of Superintendents, Superin-tendents, were the following: Jack McGurk (Sperry Univac), Ricardo Barbero (Hercules Ballistics), Attorney At-torney Bitton (Inter-Tribal School), Dr. Ruth Brosher (BYU), Richard Carman (Carman Refrigeration and member of Salt Lake City Board of Education), Rosamond Demmon (Vocational director Salt Lake Citv). Edmund Evans (Utah Pipe Trades), David Gailey (ex-officio State Board of Education), Frank Gamble (Ideal Cement Industries), Darlene Hutchison (President Utah P.T.A.), Philip Keene (Industrial Development Services), Alma Madsen (Bonneville International In-ternational Corp.), Louise McCafferty (Employment Service Director), Carol Reid (Assistant Dean Utah Tech., Provo), Wesley Scott (Dairy Farmer and member Box Elder Board of Education), Henry Sexton (State Office of Labor and Training), Samuel Smith (Division of Corrections and former Prison Warden), Helen Taylor (Counselor Granger High), Kent Thurgood (Deseret Industries) Flora Weggeland (Snow College Inst. Council). Verlaine Zeto (Dean, Utah Tech., Salt Lake City), and (Board of Regents). I was personally chagrined to learn that it costs over $10,000 a year to keep a person at the Point of the Mountain. Conversely, school districts are reimbursed only $895 per student to educate a child in school. The $10,000 figure does not figure in the amount required if an inmate is married and with a family, because of those individuals in-dividuals being on welfare programs, and oh how many, many very young men we saw. Young men who could be productive in our society. As we walked throughout all sections of the prison I found it in a general run down state. I couldn't imagine any person wanting to ever repeat a visit there, yet I learned the recidivism rate to be 70 percent of those discharged. "There was a weight and exercise room in a .10' X 20' room with the poorest equipment possible. Any small high school in our state has better. The library was little used, perhaps because a rat might have trouble finding fin-ding it and the lighting very poor for rending standards. Although clean, many of the areas seem repressive to spirits. Color was lacking, modern equipment noticeably absent, academic equipment not available, etc. Instructors knew not if they had a job from one month to the next. There were many programs designed for rehabilitation (at least on paper); however, many existed for only one or two inmates in a very small isolated area. Ceramics and photography for instance, were skeletal operations at best in dimly lit, poorly equipped rooms. The dilemma exists in the practical vocational programs specifically designed for rehabilitation. The record there for recidivation is 30 percent (as opposed to the overall high figure of 70 percent). Yet. governmental cutbacks severely curtailed the rate of accomplishment. ac-complishment. Dr. Chuck Tenney of the State Prison explained that due to tax limitations during the legislature, a large amount of total prison funds were cut. The vocational areas suffered greatly. Then after budgets were established. Governor Matheson issued his infamous in-famous and ill-timed announcement of 4 percent cutback on all government entities to balance the state's budget. Because of the vital day-to-day needs and operations when the prison vocational area's cut was eventually handed down it amounted to 25 percent (not the 4 percent). A cut in the most essential area with the highest rate of rehabilitation. Once announced, the cutback became a very serious morale factor for both inmates and staff members. Now they couldn't operate their programs all year round but only nine months. It appeared that society didn't want them rehabilitated. The prison houses approximately 800 male inmates and 25 female inmates. Before the cut. 140 took advantage of the vocational programs. After the axe fell, only 70 continued on. Inmate morale was low. It is my belief that trTe governor's cuts were ill advised, the prison's allocation of funding for vocational programs was ludicrous, and the machinery is antiquated (except for the state license plate machinery, wherein, the state makes the profit.) Despite the negativism, the instructors in-structors and inmates are to be commended. com-mended. They have done the very best with what they have. Through their efforts, classrooms now exist, OSHA standards met, fairly attractive areas renovated, and pride instilled. Good instructors, most certainly exist. A former cannery was remodeled into their vocational headquarters. It makes me wonder when a home is constructed by inmates and the purchaser pur-chaser only pays for the materials and small shop fee. Why not bid this building and utilize funds to spruce up the prison areas? Why not provide modern equipment for furniture making for profit and use the revenue to put in walkways and lawn? Why not utilize expertise to service diesel trucks, etc. and use money to build chapels or ceramic rooms or to pay instructors? Such industry can only make a small impact on the state's private industry in these areas, yet it can build pride back into wrecked souls. It can add no more than a regular program of a large urban high school. I believe terrific changes need to be made. I am not a prison reform crusader, but what I viewed just doesn't make sense if we truly want to rehabilitate these people and get them off of the taxpayers roles! |