Confronting Confinement

Confronting Confinement is a report released last year from the Commission on Safety and Abuse in Amerca's prisons that examines violence and abuse in America's prisons and jails.

.....we speak in a single voice about the problems, our nation's ability to overcome them, and the risks for all of us if we fail to act. . . . What happens inside jails and prisons does not stay inside jails and prisons. We must create safe and productive conditions of confinement not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it influences the safety, health, and prosperity of us all.”

The Commission examined dangerous conditions of confinement – violence, poor medical and mental health care, and inappropriate segregation — that can also endanger the public; the challenges facing labor and management; weak oversight of correctional facilities; and serious flaws in available data about violence and abuse in prisons and jails. The Commission's findings and a set of 30 practical recommendations for operating correctional facilities that reflect America's values and serve our best interests are captured in the report, Confronting Confinement.