Graying of Federal Prisons

We have blogged in the past about the topic of the aging of the prison population. A report was released in August that focused on the issue in the federal prison system. Aging Behind Bars: Trends and Implications of Graying Prisoners in the Federal Prison System was released in August of 2014 by the Urban Institute. Unsurprisingly, the report notes the growing cohort of prisoners who are elderly.  From the executive summary this is one conclusion that surprised me “[t]he proportion of older female prisoners is growing faster than that of older male prisoners, and providing health care services to aging women generally costs substantially more.”  In addition to aging and rate of growth, the report looks at costs, with a substantial cost based on age, including “[t]he fiscal burden of aging prisoners is applicable to a wide range of prison operations (e.g., medical supplies, welfare services, treatment, training), not just the upkeep of medical housing units.” 

Among the conclusions and recommendations, (1) “[c]losely monitor the growth of the older prisoner population, as recent years have witnessed a considerable demographic shift in the BOP population, and it is expected to continue in the near future.” (2) “[d]evelop an empirically driven definition of older prisoners.” 

Elder Law profs will be interested in the need for this definition because

[t]here is no definitive consensus as to the definition of older or “geriatric” prisoners, typically ranging from 50 to 65. Given that one of the primary motivations for examining aging prisoners is the economic burden facing all levels of governments, we recommend using data to empirically identify the age threshold at which older prisoners pose minimal risk of recidivism and can be more cost-effectively managed through noncustodial means.”

Another recommendation also calls for better data collection,  since “[t]he risk of recidivism drops as prisoners get older, and there will come a time when an additional year of prison time no longer yields a meaningful reduction in the risk of recidivism among older prisoners. Identifying such a point in one’s incarceration history would have direct policy implications for the management of aging prisoners.”

The report includes a recommendation for  “cost-effective management plans…”  The report also addresses to some extent the policy issues of incarceration.

Raising awareness of the needs of aging prisoners and equipping BOP with policy options to address such needs may not closely conform to some of the fundamental principles of punishment, such as retribution. However, it is important to recognize that poor management of prison systems can affect the rest of the criminal justice system, responsible for ensuring public safety, and potentially lead to a violation of prisoners’ constitutional or statutory rights. These concerns are increasingly more relevant and should be balanced with the question of how well our prison system serves the principles of punishment.