Criminal Justice Economics - A dialogue

[InfiniteNow]

So, we've had threads about the efficacy of punishment, about the death penalty, and all manner of other things, but we haven't really (at least directly for purposes specific to the thread) discussed the economic impact of our criminal justice system.

I must preface by saying that I have not been formally educated in this topic, nor is does my understanding branch out much beyond the setup in the United States (and more specifically, Texas), but I am curious to hear your thoughts, and see how the dialogue evolves.

I see an economic benefit from the criminal justice system in that employees are, well, employed. Running prisons requires security personnel, contract labor to build the site, guards, food industry, truckers, laundry... and everything in between to keep it running, hence, economic benefit.

However, there is also time spent in courts taking people out of the office, lowering productivity, causing fines and penalties which may otherwise be redirected back into the economy in the open market. Otherwise productive employees may be jailed for crimes many would consider minor, taking them away from the American dream, production... There are economic losses all around, especially when the proverbial black market is brought into the equation.


Does one of these stand out more than the other? What am I missing? What do you think others are missing? Can you provide specifics? Can you think of any other clear positives and negatives of the criminal justice system as pertains to economics, and would you be willing the share those ideas here with the rest of us?


Cheers.