[justjim]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

Agreed. Unfortunately it is a time-honored tactic. The "back the ambulance up to the door" approach makes its appearance, in various forms, when this-or-that entity or organization thinks it can use public opinion to pry some money loose.

In this case though, the sky is not falling, nor is it likely to do so. There've been numerous studies done on both property values and safety issues near correctional facilities. One of the best, relating to property values near such institutions, is "Correctional Facility Establishments and Neighborhood Housing Characteristics" (Kelly McGeever, sagepub dot com, 9/21/18), a long read but worth it. The conclusion states, in part, that " lower property values and other unfavorable housing characteristics were not statistically related to establishing a correctional facility in urban neighborhoods. This finding held, regardless of the correctional type."

Regarding safety near correctional facilities, this too is blown out of proportion. Various studies have shown that people living near a correctional facility don't have much to worry about when it comes to safety issues relating to that facility. The reasons are not hard to understand: there are usually people patrolling the outside perimiter of a prison as well as the inside, and law enforcement is often much more visible near correctional facilities than in non-adjacent neighborhoods. There are of course environmental factors: bright lights at night, various noise associated with running such a facility, etc., but safety near a prison is NOT the issue that some would like the public to believe. Correctional facilities are, for a variety of reasons, pretty good neighbors.

In fact, studies have shown that cities with prisons inside, or immediately adjacent to, their city limits are actually SAFER than cities not so situated. In one study, seven cities containing prisons were demographically matched with 15 cities not containing prisons. The result? "The aggregate crime rate for the 7 prison cities was 22 percent below that of the 15 cities." (J.A. Hawes, "Cities With Prisons - Do They Have Higher or Lower Crime Rates?" U.S. Dept. of Justice, 1985). The summary also touched on the issue of property values, specifically assessed property values over time: "Regarding property values, the prison cities experienced an aggregate 31.5-percent growth in per capita assessed value over 1979-80 through 1982-83. Growth in assessed value for the matched nonprison cities was 28.6 percent."

So--despite what the "informational" pickets were trying to say, prisons are actually GOOD neighbors.

Anyone posting here want to be a prison guard? Short staffing prison guards can make a very dangerous and stressful job even more dangerous and stressful. Of course, it’s safe to live near a prison as statistics have shown. The danger is within the walls as opposed to outside with the possible exception of transport of prisoners.