Prison capacity expansion and the need for an alternative approach

According to one of Canada's top young criminologists, provincial governments need to get over their fear of being labeled soft on crime.

Memorial University professor Justin Piché challenged Manitobans to speak out against the federal government's "runaway punishment train" during his talk at the University of Manitoba Nov. 25.

If you missed it, check out this article in the Manitoban.

Piché presented evidence that the Harper government's approach to crime is tough on the wallets of Canadian taxpayers and does little to promote public safety.

Canadian provinces and territories have earmarked nearly $3.4-billion in recent years to build 22 new prisons and 17 additions. In many cases, these infrastructure projects have not even factored in stricter federal sentencing measures proposed under Bill C-10, currently before the House of Commons. Piché believes private companies will be the main beneficiaries as they build and deliver services to the new prisons.

Each prisoner costs taxpayers $59,057 a year, according to Statistics Canada, with provincial governments bearing most of the burden.

"Representatives in ... provinces and territories who would rather not raise taxes or cut social services that have defined Canada for generations to fund the ineffective incarceration binge of their federal cousins need to stand in their place and be counted," Piché recently wrote in The Hill Times.

The criminologist says investment in prisons brings a poor return in community safety, compared to alternatives to incarceration.

The 30-year-old blogger is prepared to take on those members of Parliament who recently labeled academics out-of-touch for raising similar arguments.

"Justin is an up-and-coming figure in Canadian criminology. His is a voice that Canadians, and people in government, need to hear," said University of Manitoba sociologist Andrew Woolford, whose department sponsored the talk in conjunction with Robson Hall's distinguished visitor speaker series.

Biography:
Justin Piché is assistant professor of sociology at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He is also co-managing editor of the Journal of Prisoners on Prisons. Justin has conducted studies in three related areas: 1) the normalization and proliferation of confinement inside and outside the penal system; 2) alternatives to incarceration; and 3) cultural representations of imprisonment and punishment. He has co-published a number of articles in scholarly journals, including most recently in Punishment & Society (forthcoming 2011), Contemporary Justice Review (2010), and the British Journal of Criminology (2010).  Justin has received a number of awards, including the 2010 Canadian Journal of Law and Society English Article Prize with Mike Larsen (Kwantlen Polytechnic University). Currently a member of the Policy Review Committee for the Canadian Criminal Justice Association, Justin has authored and presented policy briefs to committees in the House of Commons and Senate.  A frequent commentator in print, radio and television, some of his research findings and related commentary can be accessed on his blog Tracking the Politics of ‘Crime’ and Punishment in Canada.