HOW TO STOP A PRISON in your town Contributing Authors: Ashle Fauvre, community-based programs. Since the Michelle Foy, Craig Gilmore, Ruth majority of people are being sent to Wilson Gilmore, Jason Glick, Sarah prison for non-violent drug-related or Jarmon, Abby Lowe, Lani Riccobuono, economic crimes, we believe these peo- Amy Vanderwarker, Ari Wohlfeiler. ple should have access to drug treatment and/or economic assistance (such as edu- Design: Dave Pabellon, with help from cation, affordable childcare, job training Amy Vanderwarker and placement, or welfare) instead of prison terms. Even the diminishing per- centage of people convicted of violent CPMP would like to thank Lois Ahrens, offenses can be helped outside the prison Rose Braz, Leonel Flores, Tracy Huling, system, through programs that address Dana Kaplan, Mike Murishigie, Laura aggressive behavior and abusive relation- Pulido, Debbie Reyes, Bridgette Sarabi, ships, and drug and alcohol treatment. Frank Smith, Peter Wagner, and Jason Zeidenberg for comments, support and editing; Damon Mayrl for editing assis- We consider prisons to be a form of tance and the many other people who environmental injustice. They are nor- contributed stories, comments, photos mally built in economically depressed and support for this project. Christina communities that eagerly anticipate eco- Bollo, Jorgen Gullickson, Mathew nomic prosperity. Like any toxic indus- Reamer, and Debbie Reyes contributed try, prisons affect the quality of local photographs. schools, roads, water, air, land, and natu- ral habitats. We join forces with other groups working for environmental jus- About the California Prison tice. Moratorium Project The California Prison Moratorium We believe that prisons do not make our Project seeks to stop all public and pri- communities more secure, and that vate prison construction in California. alternatives will work. As long as prison construction continues, viable alterna- The money saved from California’s tives will not be utilized to their fullest prison construction budget should be potential. used to fund and actively pursue alterna- tives to imprisonment for as many peo- Contact information ple as possible. As a result, communities will have the power to examine the rea- www.prisonactivist.org/pmp sons people break the law and seek alter- natives to prison. (510) 595-4674

Most people who are being put in prison P.O. Box 75251 do not need to be removed from society and could effectively be diverted into Oakland CA 94612 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1

A simple idea 3

Prisons on the horizon: expansion in the 80s and 90s 5

Reality, half lies and prison truths 9

Communities fight back: the story of Farmersville 19

Research 21 Guidelines for research 30

Organizing the opposition 31 Sample press release 41 How to have a house party 43 Using the internet 44

Siting and intervention 47

Conclusion 57

Appendix: Public speaking in your town 59

Appendix: Resources 63 INTRODUCTION Organizing to stop a prison When a couple of friends heard that Residents in El Centro knew that if By the time the County Board of the state wanted to build another they wanted to stop the latest prison Supervisors voted on whether or not to prison in El Centro, Imperial County, they had to get the word out to as approve the project, local organizers California, they’s had enough. The many people as possible. The group had delivered over 15,000 signatures small rural community already held wrote a quick petition calling on the opposing the prison. The Supervisors two state prisons and a massive County Board of Supervisors to reject voted 3-2 to accept the project, but Immigation and Naturalization Services the state’s proposal. They arranged to with a very important condition. (INS - now Immigration and Customs have a table at the upcoming Holtville Opposition groups had successfully Enforcement - ICE) detention center. Carrot Festival. They sat in the warm convinced the County that the costs of January sun and collected a few hun- the facility would run around $15 mil- Folks did not buy the California dred signatures on their petitions. They lion dollars. The County accepted to Department of Corrections claims that began making phone calls to friends the proposal ONLY if the state offered the proposed prison would benefit the and organizations, includng the the total amout to offset the costs, town. They had several years of California Prison Moratorium Project. instead of the $4 millions they were experience to draw from. Residents had Within a few weeks, they had gotten in offering. seen few benefits from Centinela State touch with another community that Prison or Calipatria State Prison; the had successfully fought the same proj- The group wrote letters to elected offi- unemployment rate in Imperial County ect and set a meeting to discuss cials, from the Governor of California is around 19.2 percent. The major stopping the prison. to the Mayor. They hired a lawyer, but immigrant detention center did not before any lawsuits were filed, the state help unemployment or local businesses. By the meeting time, the group knew backed out. By educating and organiz- Instead, it taxed already poor social and when the first public hearing on the ing about the true costs of the prison health services, roads, water and sewage prison proposal was scheduled. facility, local organizers lost the vote systems. “We already have an overabun- Everyone at the meeting was given but won the fight: the state wasn’t will- dance of law enforcement in the com- copies of the petition and the group ing to pay $15 million and the County munity,” activists pointed out. “Too brainstormed every possible organiza- wasn’t willing to take the project for many law enforcement employees don’t tion who might be persuaded to join less. make for a well-balanced community the opposition: clubs, churches, unions, emotionally.” chambers of commerce, city govern- The California Prison Moratorium ments. Project’s handbook starts off with this Imperial County is a predominantly story to show how successful local agricultural, Latino county. The county One person wrote a speech, outlining organizing can be, even if it is on a population is 72.2 percent Latino and the many objections to the facility, short time line, with no money, and 32.2 percent of county residents are which was delivered in various forms all driven by the many people who have foreign-born. It is home to one of over the County (see page XX for the jobs and families to take care of. The California’s largest water suppliers, pro- speech). Calls were made to the local residents in Imperial County used viding irrigation for $1.2 billion in radio, TV and newspapers, and to indi- many of the strategies we outline in the agricultural sales. But the people who vidual reporters who were covering the coming pages. If all the talk of inter- supply labor for the sprawling farms see story. The group made sure as many vention and organizing ever seems over- little of this revenue, just like they have people as possible knew that there was whelming, hopefully you can refer back seen little of the supposed benefits from another perspective on the proposed to this example and remember how all the prisons in their town. prison besides the claims the CDC possible it is to take control of your were making. town’s future. A SIMPLE Idea T T S T N N N E E E M M T E E A A N T T N O O N E I N TO W N R E A L LY E E O

Wanting the benefitsA prison A boosters jobs, or increase city revenue, or be a WA N T S A N E W P R I S O N D D T T C

promise is not the same thing as want- I boost to localI business, or improve

ing a prison. PS eople want paS rticular property values, then nobody is going No one in town really wants a new H H

F social and economic benefits, and are E to benefit. E And if nobody is going to prison. So why would people try to get C C N N O trying to get them by building a prison. L benefit, thenL everybody is potentially one placed in their town? What good

R R P P It’s likely that theseO are the thingsO you your ally in fighting the prison. does a concrete building full of cages E A A I I

want too. If these are the things every- M M

do? Or, more to the point, what good L S S E E one wants, but a prison can’t bring I Nobody reallyI wants a prison. Prisons S S do people think and say it will do? S S B them, then no one in town really wants S benefit fewS people in a community. If I I

What are they really trying to get? E E aA prison. you separate the idea of wanting a T M M A prison fromA the idea of wantingR jobs, R Jobs are always at the top of the list. P R I S O N S D O N ’ T city services, and other benefits, then People want a strong local economy so B E N E F I T A N YO N E you can help people figure out how that their children will have jobs when 03 05 07 09 unlikely it1 is1 that a new 1prison3 will 15 they grow up. They want increased tax Prisons benefit almost no one. You’ll bring those things. We know from revenues so their towns can provide find that most towns are promised the working with people around the coun- more city services: road repairs, same benefits – job creation, employ- try that people have a vision for their libraries, education, summer programs ment security, increased city services – town. The challenge is how to make for kids, a local hospital or clinic. but that almostE none of thoseE promises E the vision aE reality. And,E as we’ll help E E People want their property values to come true. DiffeT rent groupsT of people T show you, T a prison will pT revent the T T hold steady or to increase. People want in your communityI are attractedI to dif- I I I I I

S S S vision fromS being realized.S Fighting a S S local businesses to stay healthy, not ferent promises. For each of these new prison doesn’t mean sacrificing O O O O O O O only for the benefit of merchants but groups, there is a particular way to economic and social benefits, but is in for the community in general. People explain why a P prison will beP damaging P P P P P

P P P fact an impoP rtant part ofP fighting for P P want to live in nice places that aren’t rather than beneficial. them. If you show how unlikely it is clogged by traffic, choked by air pollu- O O O O O O O

that anyone will benefit from a prison tion, or poisoned by bad water. E Making these argumentsE meansE point- E in your town,E you’ll be moE re forceful inE E L

ing out what theH prison willH do. Prisons H showing thatH nobody wantsH it. H H

Anybody trying to bring a prison to L make it harderT to attract otherT indus- T T T T T I your town argues that it will bring ben- tries later on that can bring the benefits V efits, but the evidence shows that in people really want.G They areG environ- G G G G G S most cases the argument doesn’t hold mentally “dirtyN ” industries—pollutingN N N N N N R water. A prison doesn’t bring jobs to water, light, andI ground. And,I even I I I I I E local residents, it doesn’t make local though they’reS advertised as S “recession S S S S S O O O O O O O businesses any busier, it doesn’t get the pM roof” (meaning the jobs will stay even P P P P P P P local economy back on track. In fact, inR economically bad times), recent P P P P P P P building a new prison comes with big rA esearch shows that this isn’t true— downsides. Prisons damage the environ- prisonF towns haO ven’t been immuneO to O O O O O ment, and can drain away more money economic downturns. What’s more, a from city and county coffers than it prison is almost certainly “boom brings in. proof.” It’s not an industry that will g2r5ow as the rest27 of the economy29 does. If 31 33 35 37 39 a new prison isn’t going to bring new N N N O O O Z Z Z I I I R R R O O O H H H PRISONS ON THE HORIZON Expansion in the 80s and 90s In the United States, “between 1980 new invention in human history. Of 1988, the Empire State’s public univer- and 1989, the number of prisoners course, there were dungeons and towers sities have seen their operating budgets grew by 14.5% a year. During the and other unpleasant places with locked plummet by 29% while funding for 1990s, the growth averaged 6.3% a cages before that, but those places were prisons has increased by 76%. In actual year. From 1996 to 1997 alone, the nearly always places people went before dollars, there has nearly been an equal number of prisoners behind bars they were punished—usually through trade-off: the Department of jumped by nearly 12,000.”1 In 2002 torture, execution, or banishment. Correctional Services’ budget increased the prison population in the US passed Prisons—places where being locked up by $761 million over that period, while 2 million for the first time in history. is the punishment itself— were actually state funding for New York’s city and There are over 1,600 adult prisons in invented to reform those systems of state university systems declined by the US—and 200 of them have been physical torture. So even if today it’s $615 million. Across the country, the built in just the last five years. hard to imagine a world without pris- story is the same: huge and unnecessary ons, we can also recognize that such a prison projects have pushed other pri- H O W D I D T H I S H A P P E N ? world actually existed only a few gener- orities—like education and health ations ago. care—into the background.2 Common sense tells us that people go to prison because they committed a Let’s skip the first 180 years of the his- W H AT M O V E D M O R E P E O P L E crime. After all, why else would they be tory of the prison, and catch up to the I N TO C AG E S I N T H I S P E R I O D ? in prison? So we would expect that the early 1980s. Prisons were beginning to incredible explosion in the prisoner pop up all over our rural landscapes, While the real reasons are a little more population over the last 20-odd years and people from urban areas started complicated than a simple crime boom, must be because of an equally incredi- disappearing from their homes and they aren’t all that mysterious. Here are ble explosion in crime. reappearing in cages. Again, this wasn’t a few of the factors we think are most a time when crime was rising, and any- important. This can help you under- However, common sense is dead wrong body who tells you that we needed pris- stand your current fight in the context in this case. In fact, crime is at a 30 ons then (or now) because of rising of the Prison Industrial Complex.* year low. This means that most states crime rates simply isn’t looking at the and the federal government didn’t start facts. If you’re fighting prison expansion, to build and fill the prisons until after prison boosters are sure to make it seem crime had begun to decline. So why is In California, the leader in prison like you don’t care about community it that all of a sudden, we as a society expansion in the last 20-plus years, only safety. However, if you can explain that find it not only acceptable, but actually 12 state prisons were built from 1858 prison expansion doesn’t have anything necessary, to spend tons and tons of to 1982. That’s one prison every 10 to do with increasing crime—because cash to lock up tons and tons of peo- years. However, in just the next 22 crime ISN’T increasing—then you’ll be ple? years, 24 prisons were built. That’s able to explain both that you’re con- more than one prison a year! cerned with community safety, and that Let’s start with a fact that may surprise opposing the prison system actually you: prisons have only been around for In New York, prison spending has dou- helps to make us safer. about 200 years. They’re a relatively bled in the last ten years. But since

*The PIC isn’t just prisons. It’s the whole system of dealing with social problems and harm using prisons, police,

courts, and punishment. We believe that to really understand prisons you need to understand the whole system. The more you

know about the history of the prison system, the more ready you will be to keep it from harming your community. Although there may be differences in felonies; felonies that carried short sen- so-called “sentence enhancements” that specific regions of the country, these tences were turned into felonies that have greatly increased the amount of three factors fit together as a general required long sentences. So even if peo- time people have to do. One sentence explanation for our increasing prisoner ple’s behaviors haven’t changed, it is enhancement is the “mandatory mini- population: more likely they will wind up in a mum.” Mandatory minimums create cage—and stay there longer—today. unchangeable minimum sentences that 1 Creation of new crimes (new prisoners must serve if they are convict- laws that defined new crimes) Intensified Policing ed of a crime. One of the first and 2 Around the same time, federal, harshest versions of this law was 2 Intensified policing state, and local governments have Michigan’s “650 Life Law,” which required a life sentence for possession, 3 Longer sentences. begun to put more and more resources into catching and prosecuting people sales, or even conspiracy to sell just 650 who broke those laws. During and after grams of cocaine or heroin. This didn’t the Vietnam War, the military began to mean that people selling these drugs New Crimes provide training and equipment to were doing so any more frequently or 1 This doesn’t mean that in 1980 a police back home. Struggles by black dangerously than before, nor did it whole lot of people came up with a and brown people against racism made decrease the number of people doing bunch of ways to do bad things that no it more and more legitimate for police those things. It simply made more peo- one had ever thought of doing before. to aggressively monitor communities of ple sit in more cages for longer than It does mean that politicians started to color (and gave them a chance to try before. change the laws to make things illegal out their new helicopters and SWAT that weren’t illegal before, and to make tactics). And being seen as “tough on Another type of sentence enhancement the penalties more severe for some crime” has become more and more is the “three strikes law” now on the offenses that hadn’t been harshly pun- important to politicians at all levels— books in a number of states. These laws ished before. A crime isn’t just harming even though that wasn’t true a genera- drastically increased minimum sen- someone or something, it’s an act that tion ago. So again we can see that while tences for people convicted of third is defined as illegal—by Congress, your people’s behavior isn’t changing—that felonies. In California, which has one state legislature, or your city council. there isn’t any measurable increase in of the harshest “three strikes” laws in Starting around 1980, many behaviors crime—more people ended up behind the country, a person who has commit- that had been legal were made illegal— bars because the police were given more ted two prior felonies can end up with they were criminalized. Some behaviors resources to do so. a life sentence for stealing golf clubs. that were completely legal before have Again, this doesn’t mean that people are been made grounds for arrest—like behaving any worse. It means that we hanging out in groups of three or more, Longer sentences Like we said above, one of the are putting people in cages for more which was criminalized under 3 and more time. Proposition 21 in California in 2000. reasons sentences are longer today is Other things that were illegal but car- because infractions (which carry no jail ried only a minor ticket or citation time) have been turned into misde- were made into misdemeanors or even meanors (which carry sentences of up D R U G WA R felonies—carrying small amounts of to one year in a county jail), and mis- demeanors have been turned into The “War on Drugs” has played a marijuana, for example, could only get major part in the creation of new you a ticket in the late 1970s, but felonies (which carry sentences of over a year and are served in state prisons, crimes, increasing enforcement, and could land you in prison today. extending sentences. In 1983, one in Misdemeanors were turned into not county jails). But there are other ten prisoners was behind bars for a a crime 20 years earlier, because there development and health care. drug offense. In 1996, the ratio was are more police who have more one in four. The War on Drugs has dis- resources who are out to get you, and In the end, prisons are not proportionately affected blacks and because prisoners who are sent to about safety. Latinos. As Marc Mauer of the prison stay there for longer and longer. Sentencing Project reminds us, “We Safety comes from having control over housing, food, health care, know from national surveys that drug B U T A R E W E S A F E ? use cuts across all races at roughly equal work. Safety comes from having rates, but drug enforcement tends to It’s hard to let go of the thought that people you trust around when you focus on communities of color.” we aren’t safe, and that we need more need help. Prisons don’t get you cops and prisons to be safe. Prison any of those things. We don’t The “War on Drugs” combines the boosters will almost surely say those oppose prisons in spite of our three elements of prison expansion we things—that one reason to support the desire to live in a safe and fair just talked about: prison is to do you part for public safe- world. We oppose prisons because ty, or that people who oppose the we want to live in a world that is prison don’t care about community safe and fair for everyone. Criminalization. safety. And although we can’t tell you 1 Lots of things that people get sent how to reach every person and explain away for now (like conspiracy to sell) how that isn’t true, we hope this chap- weren’t crimes 25 years ago. ter gives a sort of outline for how you can make your argument: Intensified Policing. 2 Under the cover of “looking for Building more prisons has not drug dealers,” police have been able to cut the crime rate. drastically increase their surveillance over communities of color and poor We don’t need more prisons to be communities. This is true even though safe, because there isn’t more crime we know drug use is equal across racial than there was 30 years ago, when and class lines. we had over 1.5 million fewer peo- ple in cages. Sentence Enhancements. 3 Mandatory minimums for drug Building prisons wastes money offenses is a major factor in the increas- that could be used on the things ing prisoner population. For more that actually make us safe. information on sentencing enhance- Relying on prisons to deal with our ments, check out www.sentencingpro- problems actually makes us less ject.org safe. When we spend money and other resources on prisons and The bottom line is that there aren’t decide that prisons are the way more prisoners because there’s more we’ll deal with problems, then we’re crime. There are more prisoners forced to neglect lots of other because it’s more likely you’ll be put in things like education, affordable a cage for doing something that wasn’t housing, sustainable economic REALITY, HALF LIES and prison truths One of the most powerful tools that because our planning department has they found that, in terms of employ- the prison industry has at its disposal is worked hard to make sure that the new ment, for example, counties that don’t the promise of a revitalized economy, of prison will not have negative social, have prisons are slightly better off than more and better jobs, of rising real economic, or environmental impacts on the prison counties. In other words, the estate prices, and of better services for your community, building a prison is a addition of a prison tends to have a you and your family. The promises are really a win-win situation.” negative effect on the host county.3 the same, whether the county or state Departments of Corrections, the Does it sound too good to be true? Not In this chapter we’ll go through the Federal Bureau of Prisons, or a private only do we think it does, we have the most commonly promised benefits and prison corporation makes them. Nearly facts to prove it — from prison town show what effect prisons really have on every town that the prison industry tar- after prison town. Prison boosters say local unemployment and poverty, real gets for a new prison is in economic that a new prison will generate all kinds estate values, retail trade, tax revenues, trouble. Therefore, these promises are of benefits for your town. But most of costs to local governments, and so on. always made to people who are search- those “benefits” are dreams that will After that, we’ll move on to talk about ing for answers to economic problems. never come true. However, by the time some of the negative stuff that comes residents in most new prison towns fig- with prisons – the stuff prison boosters In order to get to the bottom of these ure this out, the prison has already don’t want to talk about. promises, to figure out if they’re really been built, and the town is left to deal true or if they’re just part of a phony with the repercussions. The prison First, the benefits. sales pitch that prison industry repre- industry wants to sell you and your sentatives use to sell a prison in your town leadership a most misleading bill backyard, we need to begin with the of goods. P R I S O N J O B S promise itself. Claim: The new jobs a prison brings So, one of the most important things will lower local unemployment. In brief form, the promise might run you’ll do in the course of your work to something like this: stop a prison from being built in your Truth: Most prison jobs – and all the town will be to educate your fellow res- better-paying ones - go to outsiders. “If you allow us to build a prison in idents about the real effects a prison has on the host town. In other words, you’ll your town, you will see an improve- In a February 2003 report titled, “Big ment in your town’s economic fortunes. be educating your community about the truth behind the sales pitch. In the Prisons, Small Towns: Prison The prison we are planning will bring Economics in Rural America,” the good jobs for ordinary working people, process, you’ll want to show that most if not all of the promised benefits are a Sentencing Project revealed the long- and reduce your unemployment rate. term impact of prison construction on Prisons are large institutions that need matter of smoke and mirrors rather than jobs and dollars. rural communities in upstate New many products and services in order to York. They concluded that, “over the run properly. With a new prison in course of 25 years, we find no signifi- your town, the demand for local servic- In the first nation-wide survey of the cant difference or discernible pattern es and products will rise and local busi- economic effects of prisons, a team of of economic trends between the seven nesses will be able to benefit from some rural sociologists studied every county rural counties in New York that hosted of that new business. Also, with all the in which a prison had been built a prison and the seven rural counties new people who move to your town to between 1965 and 1995. Comparing that did not host a prison.” Their find- take prison jobs, both local retail sales these places to otherwise similar coun- ings, far from being new, confirm what and real estate prices will rise. And ties in which prisons hadn’t been built, small prison towns across the country have bad credit, you can’t be trust- better-off county, where most of their have found: very few local residents get ed. paychecks will be spent. jobs at the new prison, and the few who do get the lower paying jobs. As the Sentencing Project report states, Very few of the payroll dollars from a “Counties that hosted new prisons prison will “stick” in your town. Most Example received no economic advantage as of the people hired at a prison are hired measured by per capita income.” In from a statewide or regional applicant When California planned a second fact, prison counties experienced 9% pool, rather than from the local labor prison in Delano, the state used fig- less growth in per capita income than force. That’s why prisons don’t reduce ures from the first Delano prison to their non-prison counterparts. That unemployment. predict the percentage of new jobs means people’s salaries increased more that would go to local residents. in counties that decided not to build When community activists did the The further problem is that most of prisons. What’s worse, public prisons those new employees who relocate from math, they figured out that Delano don’t pay property taxes. This means residents would be hired for only elsewhere do not move to the town that that communities miss out on tax rev- hosts the prison, but to a larger town in 4.8% of the more than 1,500 jobs enue when they build a prison instead available — for a grand total of 72 the region — a town with more retail of a productive industry. stores, theaters, other amenities, and positions. Meanwhile, Delano’s perhaps better funded schools. unemployment rate, which was Critics often dismiss these points. After Consider the fact that despite the glut about 26% before the FIRST prison all, they say, you have to take into con- of cheap real estate in prison towns, opened in 1991, ROSE to nearly sideration the increased number of pris- prison guards in California choose, on 29% by the year 2000. This shows oners and their families. They drive up average, to commute more that 30 that a 5,000-bed prison in a town of the unemployment rate. These critics miles to get to work. 30,000 actually INCREASED local miss two important points. First: pris- unemployment. oners are not counted in official unem- Since local residents don’t get the jobs ployment statistics, so the number of and those who do get them don’t live A new federal prison in Atwater, prisoners has no effect on a town’s locally, businesses in prison towns don’t California, delayed opening at full unemployment rate. And second, pris- see the promised increases in sales. capacity for months because it oners’ families rarely move to the com- Prison employees do most shopping at couldn’t find enough qualified munities where their loved ones are in regional shopping centers, often buying applicants for staff positions in a custody. So while it is true that most only gasoline, fast food and uniforms in county where one in every six resi- prisoners are poor people, it isn’t the the host town. As an illustration, let’s dents is unemployed. The qualifica- prisoners, or their families, who cause do a little math: say Joe Prisonguard tion that kept people from being prisons to have negative effects on makes $35,000 working at the prison eligible was a requirement that host communities. but, like most of his co-workers, he prison employees have good credit. lives two towns over, where the local It isn’t unusual for poor working L O C A L E C O N O M I C G R O W T H amenities and services are much better. folks to struggle with their credit, of course, but unlike a shoe factory, a Claim: Outsiders hired at the prison food processing plant, a calling live, shop, and pay taxes locally. center, or almost any other industry, prison jobs require good credit. Truth: Almost all new prison employees Prison employers assume that if you will commute from a larger town, or a In a year Joe Prisonguard will spend: the Department of Corrections Instead of buying food or computers or advertised for another two clerical furniture from businesses in your town, $1,800 on gas (that’s a 20 gallon tank positions, starting pay $17,000. the prison will buy these from a big filled once a week — the other fill-ups More than 800 people lined up in company that already has a contract will be in his hometown). the rain waiting for the hiring office with other prisons, maybe even across $1,800 on food ($7 per meal, for 250 to open so they could get applica- the state. Prison administrators will purchase very little of what they need work days — he gets two weeks off tions for the two jobs. What other to maintain their facility from local for vacation). big business would provide so few local jobs? merchants. Other than salaries, the $100 on a new uniform. biggest expense is for utilities (light and Grand Total: $3,700 spent in the host- power), and these are also usually Since ground was broken on ing town. owned by a large company outside of Corcoran I in 1986, California has the community. spent over $1 billion building and Now $3,700 over a year might not operating the two megaprisons. seem so bad. But consider, if Uncle Before the state had spent the Example Sam takes $6,000 at tax time, then of money, about 1,000 of the town’s his $29,000 take-home pay, your town In Delano, California, the only con- 8,900 residents lived below the fed- sees $3,700, and the other $25,300 tract given to a local business is for eral poverty line. After the prisons goes somewhere else. And this is before stationery supplies to the prison. were built and $1 billion spent, we consider where in your town he will That contract also supplies five nearly 2,000 Corcoran residents spend his money. Because if he buys his other prisons in the region, which lunch at big chain fast food joints half were in poverty. If, instead of means that means in five other the week, then $900 will leave your spending the $1 billion on a new towns, stationers who thought town for the corporate offices of Carl’s prison, the state had invested the they’d get prison business didn’t Jr., McDonald’s, and Burger King. A money in the county, it could have get anything at all. chunk of the gas station money will provided 1,000 good jobs with ben- flow back to Exxon and Mobil. And efits for twenty-five years. One way to measure the general health even when he gets a raise and has a lit- of local businesses is to look at the year- tle more cash in his pocket, he may eat So much for economic revitalization. to-year change in local sales tax per res- better, but he won’t eat more often or ident compared with the same figure buy more gas every week. In other Claim: Your town’s businesses will get for the state as a whole. (There’s more words, as his pay goes up, his spending some ongoing contracts with the prison on this in the “Research” Chapter.) in your town won’t. for goods and services. Example Example Truth: Most prison expenses are not In the seven years prior to the Corcoran, California is host city to local purchases. opening of Avenal, California’s two prisons. The town has 8,500 6,000 bed prison in 1987, the town “free-world” residents and 11,000 Most purchases for the prison are done generally did better than the state prisoners. Corcoran residents got through a regional or statewide pur- as a whole in taxable sales per capi- only about 7.5% of the jobs at their chasing office, where administrators ta. But shortly after the prison first prison. After the second prison work to get low prices by bidding out opened, Avenal’s tax revenue opened and both were fully staffed, contracts to supply the entire system. dropped drastically, never to recov- er. In the state as a whole, mean- More to the point, the problem with town is better off because even though while, revenues dropped during the big chains is that, contrary to the argu- fifteen jobs were lost, McDonald’s cre- recession of the early 1990s and ments you’ll hear from their representa- ated 20, for an overall gain of five jobs. then rebounded to pre-recession tives, their stores don’t really help the But there’s more to consider than the levels. In 2000, Avenal’s taxable local economy. Why? raw numbers. Why? sales per capita was only 35% of what it had been before the State The arrival of chain stores often means Locally owned businesses keep money of California sited the prison there. the end for small, locally owned estab- circulating locally. National chains In other words, local businesses lishments—for instance, a small restau- siphon their profits out of town. More have been selling fewer goods and rant that is put out of business by the than 90 cents on the dollar of the services after the prison opened arrival of a new Burger King. Thus, money flowing through a locally owned than they had sold before it was many of the jobs that prisons “create” business is re-spent locally. But for built, even though it was originally are actually replacement jobs for the every dollar spent at a national chain, billed as a great boost to the local ones lost in locally owned businesses. 60 cents leaves your town for good. economy. And since it takes time for a local busi- ness to go under, these effects will not Big-box retailers like to build outside Claim: National retail chains will follow be seen immediately, but will, instead, the town boundaries to avoid paying prisons, creating jobs and tax revenues develop over several years. So be wary local taxes, something which is easy to for the local economy. of prison boosters whose economic pro- do in towns surrounded by cheap land. jections only show the first year or two As they compete with locally owned after the opening of a prison. Most of businesses inside the city limits, they Truth: While the chains often follow the local businesses that eventually go the prisons, the promised benefits don’t actually reduce municipal tax incomes under last a few years before the chains by driving local businesses under. move in with the chains. push them off Main Street. Big-box stores change a town’s culture. Although a new box store on the edge Let’s say that after a prison goes up in of your town will generate new jobs, it They impact the rural landscape and your town, a new McDonald’s opens affect historic commercial centers that is worth pointing out that big chains up on Main Street to serve the thou- pay the majority of their workers poor- are important to a town’s identity and sands of new employees in town. Well, history. ly, hire mostly part-time staff, and offer the fast food chain hires a crew of 40 few or no benefits. We realize that a part-time employees, mostly high Example few no-benefit, 25-hour-a-week jobs school students, to do the work of 20 beats no work at all. Be that as it may, full-time workers. It will draw business In the late 1980s California’s jobs such as these are far too weak to away from the three locally owned Tehachapi prison was expanded. produce the economic recovery or revi- restaurants — two will watch their The expansion brought a host of talization that prison boosters claim. As clientele dwindle and one will go out of national retailers and food chains recently as 2001, the children of full- business. The two that lose customers that built on the edge of town. A time employees of one big-box retailer, will reduce their staff by three each (for decade later more than 780 locally Wal-Mart, qualified for subsidized a total of six jobs lost), and the nine owned businesses had been forced school lunches because their parents’ former employees of the place that clos- out of business. take home pay was below the federal es for good will be on the streets with- poverty line. out a job. Six plus nine = fifteen lost jobs. Statistically it may look like the WE DON’T OPPOSE PRISONS IN SPITE OF OUR DESIRE TO LIVE IN A SAFE AND FAIR WORLD. WE OPPOSE PRISONS BECAUSE WE WANT TO LIVE IN A WORLD THAT IS SAFE AND FAIR TO ALL. P R O P E R T Y VA L U E S appear, prices fall. Sometimes they fall residents who live in rental housing are below the level they were when the stretched even thinner. Claim: The prison will increase residen- prison was first announced. Why? If tial property values. new housing has been built for the new Example employees to buy, and if new employ- Truth: In the short run, yes. But soon ees never move to town (because, as we In Crescent City, California, the host after the prison opens, values tend to have said, most better-paid prison city’s low income workers found fall, sometimes below where they were employees live far away from prison themselves poorer after a new before the project was first announced. towns), there will be more empty prison opened in 1989 because houses on the local housing market. rents increased 25%-35% during Many towns see a flurry of real estate More vacant property for sale means construction and did not go down activity (sales, new construction) as the lower prices for real estate, which can after the building crews left town. In prison project is first approved. have two lasting effects. First, real estate fact, when the prison was 70% com- Believing that prison employees will be developers, homebuilders and their pleted, the residents held a referen- moving to town and that local residents bankers will lose substantial amounts of dum on the prison, and found that will get some of the better paying jobs, money. Less visible but more devastat- nearly half the voters regretted developers build or refurbish houses ing is the second effect: the decline in approving the prison and wanted and apartments. Local businesses and house prices threatens the security of the project permanently cancelled. owners of commercial real estate often long-time homeowners, often low (It wasn’t.) borrow money to expand or spruce up income or elderly residents. Most their holdings. Americans who have any wealth at all A TA L E O F T W O C I T I E S : only have home equity. When the value E X PA N D E D I N F R A S T R U C T U R E of their house declines, so does their During the prison’s construction, work W I T H N O G R O W T H nest egg. This will impact their ability crews spend substantial money in the to send their kids to college, to pay for town and many become temporary resi- Claim: A prison benefits a community their own retirement, or plan for long dents who rent housing. This flurry of because it will pay for and maintain range financial stability. business activity makes the investments infrastructure improvements that the in both residential and commercial real city can use to attract other industries. estate look good. Businesses refurbish Making matters worse, just because real their buildings, and developers plan estate prices go down doesn’t mean that Truth: Communities often foot the bill and build homes and retail areas. But rental prices will also decline. Rental for improvements, and the ongoing the honeymoon ends when construc- housing prices rise during construction cost of maintaining and staffing them, tion ends. The construction crews partly because of the demand from the without attracting new industrial devel- leave, employees of the new prison do crews and partly because owners of opment. not live in town, and things turn sour. rental housing borrow to spruce up or Local businesses don’t see increases in expand their rental units in anticipation A prison is a city, and every city needs their trade and many have outstanding of new well-paid prison-employee ten- extensive infrastructure: roads, sewers, loans to repay for the improvements ants. Landlords who have invested in wastewater treatment plans, schools, they’ve just completed. their units generally must charge higher streetlights, traffic cops, folks who han- rents to cover the cost of the improve- dle the immense paperwork that any ments. So even if average residential Residential real estate prices tend to government demands. Two things make real estate prices go down, rental prices increase during the prison construction a prison a most unusual city. First, do not. As a result, the dollars of town phase, but when the new buyers don’t nothing naturally gravitates toward a prison – there is no related industry went to county residents. Many of P R I S O N D R O U G H T that will set up shop at the edge of a the prison’s best paid employees Prisons use water … lots of it. In the prison the way that various kinds of live across the border in Oregon, agricultural West and other regions experts, such as tax advisors, or where they spend the bulk of their where water is difficult to come by, the machinists, or printers, or other income and pay none of the taxes water that prisons use is that much specialists cluster around other kinds of needed to pay off the prison-relat- industries. more valuable because of what else it ed debt. could be used for. As freelance wedding photographer Nikki Edwards of At the same time, the prison-city makes To sum up the economics: in the end, Porterville, California puts it, “You put great demands on infrastructure, but prisons do little to reduce unemploy- water on a cotton field, you get cotton. does not necessarily pay for them. The ment, do even less for a town’s taxable You put water on a field of vines, you city and county maintain the roads sales revenues, and artificially drive up get grapes. You put water in a prison, commuting employees drive on. While real estate prices for a brief period of you get sewage.” the prison treats some wastewater and time before causing them to fall. Bob sewage, the host community often gets Puls, who raises citrus and cattle in Example stuck with the ongoing expense. The Tulare County, California and has non-prison city and county absorb the helped to fight back five proposed pris- In Avenal, California, prison officials additional burden on already overex- ons in his county in the last 15 years, planned to sink wells in order to tended government offices and services. said this about the “benefits” that develop the prison’s water supply. The drain on resources is immense. prison industry backers promise: Local farmers sued the state to pre- And while a prison may produce a few “Prisons produce nothing, and they buy vent the prison from depleting the hours of donated prisoners’ labor, those very little from the local economy. local aquifer, which would have donated labor hours are likely to dis- Most prison guards don’t live in prison increased their costs to deliver place a low-wage resident from a job. towns. Who are they benefiting?” Not water to their crops. As a result, the the residents of the host community. court ordered the Department of Example Corrections to use water from a canal (“surface water”) rather than California’s Del Norte County had a But prisons affect more than just the groundwater. But the story doesn’t million dollar reserve fund before local economy. They also have other end here: the prison expanded the Pelican Bay Prison was sited in effects – ones which aren’t advertised by prison boosters, but which have lasting without local permission or consul- Crescent City in 1987. By the time impacts on the host cities where prisons tation and soon held twice as many the prison opened, the County had are built. One organizer from prisoners as originally planned. spent all that money and borrowed Tehachapi, California asked: “If these Because of the prison’s excessive $1.2 million to pay for new roads, prisons are so great, how come Beverly demands on surface water, the expanded schools, a landfill, and Hills doesn’t want one?” The reasons town of Avenal is left without inspectors. In addition to repaying extend beyond jobs, growth, and real enough water to do any new pro- the $1.2 million infrastructure debt, estate: prison construction has negative ductive, commercial, industrial, agri- the county of fewer than 40,000 social and environmental consequences cultural or residential development. people must both pay a prorated that no wealthy community would In other words, not only did the share of the prison’s quarter-billion tolerate. prison in Avenal seriously deplete dollar loan, and tax itself to main- the local water supply, the problem tain these improvements. At the is so severe that it prevents the kind same time, only 20% of prison jobs of economic development that might lead to real revitalization. covered that a group of guards’ ing humans, have daily rhythms that teenage children were responsible depend on light and darkness. S O C I A L D I S O R D E R S for the burglaries. As a juvenile pro- Migratory birds and a variety of other bation officer in Susanville explains, local species are killed or have their Prisons also bring with them less visi- “These kids [guards’ kids] live in a mating and feeding patterns seriously ble, but no less devastating, increases in para-military household. But they disrupted by the mega-bright prison domestic violence, violence in schools, really don’t have much supervision. lights. Agriculture suffers because 24- and alcoholism. The increase in social They’ve got nothing to do.” hour lighting interferes with the rela- disorder in prison towns can’t be tionship between darkness and plant blamed on prisoners or their families. B R I G H T L I G H T S , B I G P R I S O N growth and pest control. And people The prisoners are locked up and their who cannot get a proper night’s sleep families rarely move to the towns where One of the most contentious issues literally go crazy. their loved ones are locked up. about prisons in rural towns is lighting. Residents of small rural towns revel in P R I S O N R AC E WAY S , Example the natural beauty of their region and P R I S O N G R I D L O C K most enjoy seeing the star-filled skies After the High Desert Prison long forgotten in urban or suburban Since it’s common for prison employees opened in Susanville, California, neighborhoods. Yet, one Wasco, to live dozens of miles away from the Linda McAndrews, director of California resident told us, “One of the prison, traffic during the three shift Lassen Family Services, a domestic worst things about the prison is that we changes is often intense by local stan- abuse and rape service provider, lost our beautiful sunsets to the glare of dards. Let’s say a prison has 1,000 reported that she got 3,000 crisis the prison lights.” Why? Because pris- employees (typical for California’s pris- calls from women in a single year. ons use intensely bright lights and they ons), with 80% of employees working Susanville has a free-world popula- burn them all night, every night. every day. That’s 800 daily trips to and tion of 6,900. In Susanville, unlike from the prison. Commuters, rushing many other prison towns, some A Susanville resident described her to get home, regularly speed along nar- guards do live in town. town before the prison and after: “I row country roads used by local cars, drove over Highway 36 and saw the school buses, and agricultural equip- Colleen McGrath (New York State town below us like a little constellation ment in prison towns. In places where Office for the Prevention of of stars. It was so dark all around and air pollution is a problem, the tens of thousands of additional commuter Domestic Violence) told Tracy the town seemed to hang there in mid- miles ever year can make air quality Huling: “Domestic violence in law air, like some fairy village. Now you see even worse, increasing health risks to enforcement families is a subject this tremendous area rimmed with hor- residents. Air pollution makes a region that up until recently nobody want- rible yellow lights — and it’s all you less attractive to productive industries ed to touch….Based on self-reports can see.” that might otherwise be interested in […] the rate of incidence would locating in your town. seem to be higher—not dramatical- Even as residents in Susanville and ly higher, but markedly higher.” other prison towns continue to fight (so far unsuccessfully) to get back their P R I VAT E P R I S O N S : J U S T A S BA D A S P U B L I C O N E S Crescent City, California saw a sub- night skies, the harm done by such stantial increase in burglaries of powerful lighting goes well beyond One issue we have not addressed out- unoccupied homes after Pelican ruining picturesque sunsets and post- right until now is the question of pri- Bay State Prison opened. They dis- card vistas. All living creatures, includ- vate vs. public prisons. From what we’ve heard from people like you, in prison towns or towns that have fought prisons, we’ve found that the differ- ences between public and private pris- ons are very small. In terms of impacts on employment, impacts on the envi- ronment and impacts on local infra- structure, they are largely the same. Private prisons may have to pay proper- ty taxes, whereas public prisons do not. But many private prisons pay less in taxes than you might think. As the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy: Good Jobs First found in their report Jail Breaks: Economic Development Subsidies Given to Private Prisons (see appendix), over 70% of private prisons received some kind of subsidy from federal, state or local governments. One third of these prisons received tax breaks. We will dis- cuss these issues more in the handbook and also have references for resources on private and public prisons in the appendix.

R E C A P We’ve now gone through some of the most common claims that boosters make when they want to build a new prison, and we’ve given you some ideas The proof, as they say, remains in the about the arguments you can use to pudding. In the next chapter, we’ll PROFITING OFF fight their questionable claims. But it show you how to do some basic still remains for you to provide some research to prove the arguments in this SOMEONE ELSE'S proof for your arguments to give them chapter — and to shape them more the strength to stand up to scrutiny by directly to your town’s situation. MISERY IS NO your opponents. You can’t assume that KIND OF BUSINESS you’ll be able to convince people that If you need help understanding any of you’re right by giving arguments that the material in this chapter or the rest FOR A HEALTHY are critical of your opponents, no mat- of the manual, or if you’re coming up ter how well you argue. against arguments for which you don’t COMMUNITY TO have a good reply, give us a call or drop us an email. DEPEND ON. Communities Fight Back: The Stor

Farmersville is a small town in eastern Tulare County, On Thursday, September 9, 1999 a local United Farm California. Established in the 1860s, Farmersville, like Workers (UFW) employee learned that the following many towns in “the valley,” is primarily an agricultural Monday the City Council was meeting to approve con- town that produces dairy, citrus, grapes, walnuts, cotton, struction of a 550-bed prison by the Wackenhut tree fruit and alfalfa. Much smaller than its closest neigh- Corporation. Wackenhut is a self-described “provider of bors Visalia and Exeter, Farmersville has remained a quiet security-related and diversified human resource services to place to live and grow up. Leaving the chain stores and business, industry and government agencies” whose main movie theaters to much larger and busier areas, business is to build, staff, and run prisons. Although they Farmersville is a town with three main streets, one night- are a private corporation, this story would be the same even club, one high school, and a small volunteer library. The if the prison were public, as most prisons are. After talking town has a many churches as restaurants, and you can still to the local UFW union office, the UFW organizer found get a 3-bedroom/2-bath home for under $100,000 there. the Prison Moratorium Project’s contact information on our website, and contacted us. They also began alerting Like many of the smaller agricultural towns in the Central local community members of the Monday meeting, who Valley, Farmersville has fallen on hard times over the past hadn’t heard about the prison proposal. By Saturday, resi- twenty years. With unemployment higher than 20% and dents were organizing with the help of sympathetic neigh- an average (median) family income of about $17,000 per bors from nearby towns who had fought against prisons in year, the city watched the so-called “boom economy” of the the past. They spent most of Sunday in a meeting to plan 1990s sweep across the state from the sidelines. Because the who would say what to the City Council come Monday economy has struggled here, prison officials, prison evening. One of the things they did was divide up the bureaucrats and pro-prison politicians have been able to information from the California Prison Moratorium turn the region into “prison alley” by persuading the city Project handbook “What Good Is a Prison?” so that each managers of many small towns like Farmersville that pris- person could make a separate but related point about why ons are the best (and perhaps the only) way to bring “eco- the proposed prison would not benefit Farmersville. nomic revitalization” to their towns. On Monday night, more than 20 UFW members showed But in spite of its similarities to other towns in the Central up at City Hall to oppose the prison. There, they were Valley, Farmersville stands out because its residents said joined by students from Farmersville high school, who had “no.” When the City Council was considering a proposal staged a march from their school to the city offices to chal- to bring the prison industry into their town, the residents lenge the proposal. They all testified, in Spanish and in of Farmersville saw past the prison boosters’ promises of English, about how a prison would create problems and shiny new chain stores, increased employment, and more damage the quality of life in their town without reducing tax dollars, and recognized that these promises were large- unemployment. At the same time local ranchers, led by ly empty. They successfully argued that while they were Bob Puls, a cattle rancher from nearby Lindsey who has for economic revitalization, they were strongly opposed been fighting to keep prisons out of Tulare County for over to building a prison as the way to do it. They brought a decade, argued that the prison would consume too much together a wide cross-section of the community to oppose of one of the area’s most precious resources – its water. the proposed prison plan. And they were able to do all of After hearing the testimony of more than 40 residents who this in four days. came out to oppose the building of a prison, the City Council made two decisions, according to the local paper. The Story of Farmersville

First, it denied Wackenhut a permit; and second, the If you oppose a prison in your town, council went on record stating that it would never you’re not alone. approve a prison of any sort in Farmersville. Much cele- bration followed. Residents who opposed prisons from nearby towns, the UFW, and Prison Moratorium The Farmersville story shows how people saw through Project provided their organizing support and the prison lies and illustrates some key ideas that are publicity materials to help the people in important to this handbook as a whole: Farmersville win their struggle. And more and more people are coming to the same conclu- Lots of different people don’t want a prison in sion about prisons: profiting off someone else’s their town and are willing to fight to keep one misery is no kind of business for a healthy com- out. munity to be dependent upon. Where else are you going to find Republican ranchers and landowners standing side by side with migrant farmworkers? Or high school stu- dents with small business owners? Strange though it may seem, these are powerful coali- tions precisely because the alliances are so unlikely.

When people work together to organize themselves, they have a tremendous amount of power over important decisions in the places where they live. In only one weekend, community members of Farmersville were able to stop the prison plan dead in its tracks. Your actions (or inactions) count.

It’s never too late to act. The Farmersville story shows that no matter where your town is in its decision-making process, you still have time to start organizing. RESEARCH This section is an overview on how to W H AT I S R E S E A R C H ? The most important quality any find out the actual effects of prison sit- researcher must have is patience. That ing in communities like your own. Half Research is four things everyone already is because the people and offices with the work is being sure you ask the best does every day. the answers to your questions are scat- questions. In fact, sometimes good tered far and wide. Generally they’re questions alone can change the out- Ask good questions; overworked and understaffed. It takes come of a potential prison siting. Figure out what people or patience to figure out where to get the source can answer your ques- things that you need. You might have Example tions and patiently follow up; to make a few phone calls to get a sin- gle answer – but that’s something The City Manager of Mendota, a Put all of the answers together everyone experiences, whether ques- small town in California’s Central to get an overview of the prob- tioning a utilities bill, getting informa- Valley, approached his County’s lem you’re trying to solve; tion about their kid’s school, or setting Rural Economic Development up a group activity for people they Keep a record of how you have Department to ask for a $4 million work with. The point is, patient gathered your information so grant to improve the city’s infra- researchers get the job done. that somebody else who follows structure. The town was trying to the same steps will arrive at the win approval to be a site for a new same answers. Now we’re ready to move on to the federal prison, and the prison step-by-step guide. And if the guidance boosters believed that the Federal You’ve already done research to buy a you need is not in the pages of this Bureau of Prisons would give them car or a television, to figure out where handbook, please call or email us and the prison if the town could prom- to get the best sandwich in town, or to we will help you. ise to build new roads, sewers, and find the quickest route from your house so forth. The Director of Rural to the nearest post office. When you see D O N ’ T A S S U M E T H E Y ’ R E R I G H T Development for the County knew research for what it really is — going A N D YO U ’ R E W R O N G . that communities in the Central through steps to arrive at the answer— Valley were not prospering from then you see you do it all the time. The way to start researching to stop a state or federal prisons, and she Talking to neighbors about how they prison in your town is to question each reached out to grassroots people get to the post office is research. of the claimed benefits of prisons one against the prison to find out what Comparing sandwiches from your two at a time. In the previous chapter we she should know. As a result of her favorite restaurants is research. And reviewed a number of the most popular inquiry, she asked the City Manager telling a friend how you figured out claims about prison benefits, and one question: How many unem- that the TV you bought is the best deal showed how the truth is quite different ployed residents of his town could is also part of research. from the promises. We suggest you use expect to get the new prison jobs. those claims as a guide for your The answer was ZERO. The County Doing research makes you an expert. It research. Rural Development Board refused may be that your town’s elected officials to give the city a grant until the City don’t want to see you as an “expert,” or You should begin your research by find- Manager presented a real develop- that the guy who lives down the street ing out who is for the prison and why. ment plan that would truly benefit doesn’t think you’re an “expert.” But if Don’t be discouraged by big words and the town’s residents. you follow the four steps, it won’t mat- fancy talk. Ask boosters to say what ter what others think. You will be an they mean — in detail. Don’t accept expert. words like “recovery” and “revitaliza- tion” or “economic stimulus.” Instead, necessarily give you all their reasons — can use to find out just what the effects ask them to say, in plain language, what they might want to save some “bene- of a second city right next to yours will they mean by these fancy words. Do fits” for a time and place when they be. This research boils down to two they mean jobs? How many jobs? What think they can catch you unprepared. tasks: figure out who to ask and what to kind of jobs? Do they mean increased In other words, some boosters act in ask them. sales for local businesses? How much? good faith, and some don’t. Don’t be Over what period of time? Ask for surprised to encounter both kinds of To begin, make a worksheet for each specifics, and ask for them in writing. folks. question to guide your research (see the Never, ever take an “expert’s” view at sample worksheet at the back of this face value. And most importantly, Once you’ve gotten prison supporters handbook). A worksheet helps you get always ask the person who’s making to explain what they mean by each organized by helping you figure out the claim how they arrived at that claim, figure out which of the proposed what you already know, what you still conclusion! benefits is likely to seem important to need to find out, and where you other residents of your town. You learned what you know (whether the Once you’ve identified the claims, might find this out by reading the source was reliable or not). Also, when you’ll evaluate them, one by one. How newspaper, or writing a letter to the people ask how they can get involved, do you do this? In three easy steps: editor to see who responds, or just talk- you can give them research worksheets ing with a group of neighbors, or and ask them to answer particular ques- Think through the claims to fig- coworkers, or people from your house tions. ure out what they actually of worship about the problem as you mean. see it. Talking things over in some way In thinking of the questions to ask, you will help you figure out which research should be creative. Remember, you will Make a list of your own ques- to do first. It will also help you gather a find the answers to the questions you tions about each claim. research team – which is to say people ask. Therefore, you should ask the like you who want to know what is questions that make a difference to you Find the answers to your ques- really likely to happen if a prison gets tions. and your fellow residents as you consid- built in your hometown. er what a prison will do to the place T H I N K T H R O U G H T H E C L A I M S where you make your home. For exam- TO F I G U R E O U T W H AT T H E Y Once you figure out what boosters ple, you might decide that most resi- AC T UA L LY M E A N . actually mean by their claims move on dents think that any new development to step two. in town should include better child- or When a booster claims a benefit, he or elder-care. Or you might want to know she believes the benefit will appear in whether a town with a new prison has one or more forms. For example, “eco- M A K E A L I S T O F YO U R O W N Q U E S T I O N S A B O U T E AC H more activities and work opportunities nomic growth” can mean lots of differ- for teenagers to take advantage of. ent things: new jobs, or new business C L A I M . for old or new companies, new resi- A prison is a city. What are the effects As with much of this work, it helps to dents who will need new housing, of putting a small city (a prison) next roads, schools, sewers, wastewater treat- do it collectively. One really smart per- to another small city (your home son trying to come up with all the ment, and health care. To get to the town)? The federal and state govern- bottom of a claim, you should first ask questions after a full day’s work is going ments have built so many prisons dur- to be less effective than 10 tired people boosters to spell out what they mean. ing the past twenty years that there is Remember, though, that they won’t focused on the same task. More heads now a lot of information out there you means more ideas, more input, more possibility to cover all your bases. Take Here are some questions to ask about New business activity advantage of the group. the most common issues that concern Do new businesses work side-by- residents about a proposed prison. side with existing ones, like mom We have provided a list of questions to Because building a new prison is really and pop restaurants, grocers, auto get you started. Doubtless you’ll be just like building a new city next to parts stores, and so on? coming up with many more topics and yours, many parts of your town will be Or, do small, local businesses questions that apply more specifically affected. close up because of new chain to your town. Remember to involve stores? your friends and neighbors. Keep up on Jobs Do chains leave as much money other people’s thoughts and concerns What kind of jobs are they? in the local community as locally about the prison. The more people you What are the average qualifica- owned businesses do? talk to, the more chances you’ll have to tions of people who get such jobs? How much? What percentage? hear about what issues are important to Are the average qualifications your community. Add these issues to higher than the minimum require- your research list. If you can’t think of ments for the jobs? Residential growth original questions do two things: begin How many jobs are being prom- Will the prison increase the town’s with the ones we’ve provided, and use population? them as a base to come up with new ised to local residents? questions. If you still can’t figure out Can a town demand that jobs be How? what else to ask about, give us a call. reserved for current residents? And by how much? Can a town or prison require non- Remember, find out from the people resident employees to move to the town? Environment you ask how they arrived at their The environment is where we live, answers. A good researcher will never work, learn, and play. A new prison just rely on the word of a so-called Businesses will produce air pollution and affect “expert,” no matter how qualified What kinds of business activity do the environment in other ways. What she/he seems to be. prisons support? is the current status of your environ- Does the prison itself spend ment? When you’ve challenged each prison money locally? Is your current environment booster’s claim by coming up with How much? And on what? (If they important for what already happens good questions, you can push forward don’t put utilities at the top of the in your area – such as recreation, to step three. list, somebody isn’t telling the agriculture, or the ordinary enjoy- truth). ment you take from living where F I N D A N S W E R S TO T H E Q U E S - What goods/services are pur- you live? T I O N S YO U A S K . chased outside the local area? What will adding a small city to The level of detail you get for the ques- Do employees spend money your town do to the environment? tions you ask depends on how patient locally? On what? How will you benefit from, or be you are, how much time you have, and harmed by, the changes? what you want to do with the informa- tion. Sometimes, a good, focused ques- tion, and a general answer, will lead you to all the information you need. Health Care Schools the claim that skilled nurses would Are the existing doctors, nurses, Are your schools currently ade- move to their town to work in the therapists, hospitals, and clinics quate? proposed prison. By contacting the adequate for your community? Will the prison increase enroll- state Department of Health and Will the prison increase the health ments if the children of the prison Human Services, community mem- care capacity of your town, or staff enroll? bers learned that the entire state suffers from an acute shortage of dilute the health care for folks both If so, by how much? inside and outside of the prison? nurses. So it was unlikely that a new Who pays to increase school size? prison would lead to a significant How will these increases be Roads increase in qualified health care implemented without a drop in professionals when such individuals educational quality? were so scarce throughout the New houses and businesses and, state. As a result, many others especially, the prison itself, will joined in opposition to the prison automatically create a great strain Sewers because they did not want to jeop- on current infrastructure. How much more sewage will be ardize the health of school children produced by the prison? and elderly retirement home resi- How many more roads will be By new businesses? dents. required? Who pays to develop more Where will they run? capacity? Who pays to build them? W H E R E TO B E G I N ? Who pays to maintain it? Who pays to maintain them? You can begin to seek out the answers Will roads have to be widened or to your questions by making contact Water new traffic signals added to accom- with communities that have prisons modate more cars on the road? that were built in the past twenty years How much of an increase in water (prisons constructed before 1984 were Traffic use will the prison cause? built under very different conditions). If more people live in your town, Is there enough good water to We have met community groups that or if new employees work in your support a swelling in the popula- sent small delegations to towns with a town but live elsewhere, what hap- tion? prison to see and hear with their own pens in terms of road congestion? What is the timeframe they’re eyes and ears. This is a great way to using to make their calculations What does increased traffic mean begin your research. Likewise, it is also and forecasts? a good idea to contact folks who have for the safety of children going to If the water supply got strained, kept prisons out of their town. How do and from school and activities? what other options would people you find such communities? The easiest Air pollution? have? way is to contact us at Prison Traffic control? Will a new prison Will wastewater be recycled? Moratorium Project. require new police officers to Who will pay? ensure safe roads at rush hour/shift Touring a Prison Town change? Example Once you’ve found a town to visit, put In El Centro, California, concerned your question worksheets on a clip- community members challenged board and take a tour. Look at the RESEARCHING HOW TO STOP A PRISON BEGINS WITH QUESTIONING EACH OF THE CLAIMED BENEFITS OF PRISONS, ONE AT A TIME. downtown, travel the streets, visit the to people on the street. A random citi- occurred since the prison was built. prison, ask all your questions. For zen of the town may have ideas that no example, ask the guards where they live. other organization or individual you We’ll take on some of the most com- Ask the business people along Main have plans to meet with would ever tell mon measures of change one at a time. Street what benefit they think they’ve you. And the Chamber of Commerce, gotten from the prison. Also ask them generally a pro-prison organization, will how the businesses in town have be able to tell you of the comings and Jobs changed over time. Are there more? goings of businesses since the prison How do you measure jobs? A few ways. Fewer? And over how many years did was sited. A good question to begin asking is these changes take place? Make a note always: what was the unemployment rate in the town two years before the of the answers you get on your work- When asking questions about jobs, sheets. Also, take along some blank prison opened? What is the current businesses, poverty, and other indica- unemployment rate? You can get those worksheets to use in case new questions tors of changing prosperity, you have to come up. numbers from city hall, or the county get at least two answers to each ques- employment development office, or the tion: state labor department. The informa- If the town you decide to visit has a tion is a few short phone calls away. newspaper, the editor will generally be What was the situation two an excellent source of information. The years before the prison opened But you will also want to know who editor will be able to recall what the (it takes about two years from arguments for and against the prison got jobs at the prison and whether or when a prison site is approved not prison workers live in the local were, and will know about the current to when the prison opens) opportunities and problems in the community. Sometimes the prison town. She or he will probably know What is the situation today? human resources office will give you a who led both the support and opposi- zip-code list of employees, which will tion to the prison and might even have simply show you who lives locally. In an idea about how to contact these M E A S U R I N G C H A N G E S I N California, fewer than one out of five individuals. P R I S O N TO W N S prison jobs of any kind goes to people who already lived in the host commu- Alright, you know what kinds of things nity. And the people who get the Still, you’ll want more sources of infor- you want to find out about (jobs, sales, remaining 80% of jobs don’t move to mation, since with more information population, etc.). But how do you find the town. They make their homes else- you will get a more complete picture of a trustworthy method for finding these where. what has happened in that town since things out, short of relying on some- the prison was built. If the town has a body else’s (perhaps questionable) senior center, you might want to start expertise? And how do you do it in Businesses there. Often, retired people pay the such a way that your answers will stand Again, a town’s local Chamber of closest attention to what is going on up to the inevitable scrutiny from the Commerce can tell you about the com- around them. The high school princi- prison’s boosters? A general rule of ings and goings of member businesses. pal will have a sense about changes in thumb is to compare information from That won’t be everybody, but it will the size of the local schools, as well as two years before the prison was built to give you a general idea of change over about changes in employment opportu- two years after, as well as the present. time. It is always important to ask peo- nities for teenagers and recent gradu- That way you are evaluating a period of ple to describe the differences between ates. Go to service at local places of time that would be long enough to new and old businesses in terms of worship. If the opportunity arises, talk show any significant changes that ownership (Independent, Chain, or Franchise?) so you can get an idea of Whether you have sales tax or not, Residential and Commercial how much of the revenue that circu- another question to ask is what the Construction lates through the place is likely to bene- total size of local payroll is. This is also By driving around a town you can see if fit the town as a whole rather than a a question that a nearby planning, new construction is happening. You can remote owner. economics, or rural sociology depart- also ask realtors in the area how hous- ment could help you answer. ing and other real property stock and Business activity prices have changed over the time peri- There are different ways to measure Poverty od you’re wondering about. Realtors business activity, and the way you do it This is actually a hard one. In recent can also give you a sense of how rents depends on where you live. If you live years, the definition and eligibility have changed over time. Be sure to ask in a place with sales tax, then your job criteria for family assistance has whether rising rents have kept pace is relatively straightforward: changed so dramatically that the answer with, lagged behind, or outstripped the to a question about poverty can be change in sale prices for comparable quite misleading. How so? Well, it’s real estate. If rents are higher, but house You will first want to ask whether the prices have fallen, that means low- host community’s per capita sales tax very likely that the way they counted poverty in 1995 was very different than income people in the community are totals have risen or fallen, and whether worse-off than they were, while elderly that change has been the same as or dif- how they count it now. So comparing 1995 poverty rates to current ones and retired people who own homes ferent from the county or state as a might be in worse condition as well whole. Remember the general rule, and won’t give you an accurate picture of poverty in the host community. (see the previous chapter’s discussion compare two years before the prison is about real estate values). You should built to two years after, as well as the also look at building permits, to see present. It might be the case that the number of how many of the projects that filed per- welfare caseloads in a particular town mits were actually completed. The state office in charge of sales tax has dropped since the prison opened, but that drop might be because people revenues can usually provide you with Infrastructure the answers to these questions, though lost their eligibility for benefits rather than because they got jobs at, or related Since a prison is a city, it needs all the it will likely take a while to get a stuff every city needs: roads, sewers, report. Try to be patient. And push this to, the prison. With the Federal govern- ment’s push to move people off of wel- wastewater treatment plants, power to the top of your list of answers to get, plants, etc. New facilities will have to to give yourselves plenty of lead-time. fare, such declines in official poverty numbers are not uncommon. You can, be built. Local resources (especially however, find out how many children water) may not support the huge In addition, you can often find stu- in the school district are eligible for increases in utilities that prisons dents or faculty at local colleges or subsidized lunches, and how that num- demand. And someone will always have universities, especially in departments ber has changed over time. Also, you to pay for such increases. For this rea- of planning, economics, or rural can look at the changes in the percent- son, your worksheets should always sociology, who have access to this kind age of folks who receive Aid to Families include questions about who paid for of information and who will probably with Dependent Children (AFDC) or the infrastructural development, who figure out the answers for you at no Temporary Assistance to Needy has paid to maintain it since it was charge. We can try to help you find Families (TANF). The answer won’t be developed, how they paid for it, and somebody to do this if you ask. perfect, but it will give you a sense of what the repayment plan is on any how well or poorly low-income house- loans. holds are doing in the community. Environment 280-acre neighbor steals your night Everything we’ve covered so far, plus sky from you. more, can reasonably fit into this cate- gory. In a sense, “environment” means Besides talking to local residents and pretty much everything — what your using your own eyes, ears, and noses, town looks like, how it operates, what you should try to get copies of environ- impact it has on the surrounding mental impact reports, if any exist, for region, and how it supports the lives of any prison host-city. These reports are those who live in it. When you ask written before a prison is built, and questions about the environment, what they predict what the effect of a prison you’re trying to get at is how a prison will be on the environment, and some- will enhance or degrade life for all liv- times the economy too. You can com- ing things in your town — which pare the estimated impact to what has means not just the human residents of actually happened since the prison was your town, but your town’s representa- built. Beware that these reports are long tives from the animal and plant king- and complex, mostly written for “spe- doms as well. Insofar as one of the cialists” in the field. We can help you important benefits of living in a small, sort through them if you need it. To rural area lies in your proximity to and track down these reports, try contacting connection with the natural surround- local libraries, newspapers, city coun- ings, questions about the environment cils, or the state or federal bureau of are neither unimportant nor secondary. prisons.

Example R E C A P Concerned community members All right, so now you’re ready to go off from Hartford County, Maryland and turn yourself into an expert on decided to visit a prison town to your town’s possible future. Next, we’ll find out what the future might hold turn from the subject of research to the for them. At the prison, they meat and potatoes of your campaign to noticed that at sunset all the stop the prison in your town organizing fel- prison’s guards put on their sun- low residents to stop it. It’s no good to glasses — to shield their eyes from have spectacular research if you have no the glare of the prison’s bright way of getting the word out to your lights, which burn throughout the neighbors and convincing them that night, each night. What a way to you’re not just a busy-body trying to learn that prisons are never dark, make trouble for your town’s elected and that communities where prisons officials. are sited lose the night sky! And yet, if you don’t ask these questions about the environment, you might never know of such consequences until it’s too late, and your new, Guidelines for research We have filled in some example ques- CLAIM I AM INVESTIGATING tions to give you an idea of how to use The prison is a cost effective industry for the City of Mendota. this sort of worksheet. The worksheet is only a guide for you to develop a QUESTION helpful way for you to organize the What are the associated costs to building a prison in Mendota? information you find. All examples are ficticious. The worksheet answers the WHERE I WILL FIND THE ANSWER: basic questions: Mendota city planners, the Enivronmental Impact Report for the project, City Manager, public utility and service officials, city officials in Delano who have What you need to know about already built a prison and are building another. about a claim

WHAT I FOUND Where you’ll get the answers The EIR says that Mendota will need more power than the city has capacity for right now, and it does not say those costs will be covered by the Federal Bureau of What you found, including Prisons. sources and dates WHERE AND WHEN I GOT THE ANSWER Additional information you need Draft Environmental Impact Report, page 60. to find NEW PIECES OF INFORMATION I NEED TO FIND How much power does Mendota have capacity to supply right now, how much power a typical prison use, and how much maintenance and construction costs of such a power supply run.

WHAT I FOUND The city planner I interviewed said there would significant impacts on traffic because of all the commuters who will work on the prison and be driving through town. This makes new roads out to the prison necessary

WHERE AND WHEN I GOT THE ANSWER Interview with City Planner, 5/28/04.

NEW PIECES OF INFORMATION I NEED TO FIND How much does it cost to build new roads. ORGANIZING the opposition W H AT I S O R G A N I Z I N G A N D Organizing for Social Change: A plished once you’ve gathered, and some H O W D O I D O I T ? Manual for Activists in the 1990s by logistical stuff for making them run the Midwest Academy. smoothly. Having the facts and knowing your allies are a couple of very important steps in the fight against a new prison. C A L L I N G A N D H O L D I N G Goals Now you’ve got to figure out how to M E E T I N G S First, every meeting should have a goal. It is important for participants to use these tools to do a few other impor- Meetings are the basic building-block feel like they are accomplishing some- tant things: spread the word so that of any organizing campaign. Meetings thing toward their overall goals. For more people in your town will be are the place where community mem- instance, an initial meeting to stop a informed, increase the number of peo- bers come together to meet one anoth- prison might have the goal of develop- ple who agree with you and are willing er, make plans for a campaign, make ing a plan for the campaign to stop the to help out, create and carry out a strat- decisions on goals, and determine how prison, finding ways for community egy to keep the prison out, and use the they can achieve those goals. They are members to express their opposition, local and regional news media to cover the places where people new to the finding avenues for directing that oppo- your side of the issue. When put issue find out what you’re all about. sition, and making a timeline for together and done well, these four And, they are the place where people implementing those actions. Or a meet- things are “organizing”. We can’t guar- begin to see the power that they have ing might focus on the subject of how antee that organizing will keep a prison simply by coming together in common to bring more people in the community out of your town, but we can guarantee cause and letting others know about it. into the campaign. Keep your goals that if you don’t do it, you will lose This may seem a little on the touchy- simple at first. While you all, ultimate- your opportunity to influence the deci- feely side for some of you, but you’ll ly, want the same thing (no prison), sion. have to keep in mind that one of the you’ll get there through the many small most common reasons for inaction is steps you take as a group. There’s no Just as with research, what you might isolation. Your job as an organizer is to sense rushing ahead if the group isn’t lack in experience, you can make up for make sure that no one in your town ready, since your greatest strength is in with commitment and perseverance. At feels isolated from the debate around the group itself. bottom, organizing is really about only the new prison. two things — communication and per- suasion — with a good dose of creativi- Having said that, many examples of Have you set concrete, realistic ty thrown in. In this chapter, we’ve laid successful organizing against prison goals? out many of the basics for organizing. construction in California have started Have you made sure that your As you begin to organize, you’ll find with just one or two people, meeting goals allow everyone to partici- that some of what we’ve suggested over coffee and talking about why they pate? doesn’t apply to your situation or that it do and do not want a prison in their doesn’t work in your town, and you community. These informal discussions Logistics will develop your own strategies that can develop into campaigns and meet- weren’t mentioned in this handbook. Meetings should be held in places that ings that bring the force of the commu- are comfortable and familiar to the We hope that you will let us know nity together to fight for common goals what did and didn’t work for you, so folks you want in attendance. It doesn’t and a common vision for their town. work to hold a meeting at a spacious that we can make future versions of this Because meetings are so important, we handbook better. With that, let’s talk community center if it’s not a conven- thought we’d talk a little about how to ient distance for the majority of the res- about the pieces of organizing. A lot of hold one, how to get things accom- what’s in this chapter comes from idents in your town or for the groups you hope to draw to a particular meet- capacity to lead. This leadership experi- what prison officials and their support- ing. Here are some other things to con- ence will be important as your group ers do in virtually every attempt to sider: grows. For instance, if a single person build a new prison. They figure, the has always chaired your meetings, when fewer people involved in the debate, the Newsprint and markers your group becomes sufficiently large easier to control the debate — and to split into two subgroups, there will they’re right. More people joining your Easel and chalkboard be no other person with chairing expe- group will increase your chances for Outlets for audio-visual rience to take over with the new sub- success. equipment group. Chairing a meeting is also an Sign-in sheets and table opportunity to practice public speaking Other considerations Refreshments — something you’ll want many of your Is the site familiar, accessible, rep- Microphone set-ups members to have some experience with. resentative and adequate? In the end, each aspect of the work you Have you arranged for childcare? do to stop the prison is some kind of Are the date and time good for Do you have transportation for opportunity to increase your group’s those you want to attend? those who need it? ability to act and organize. The stronger Do you have a chairperson for Do you have a plan to increase the skills of the entire group are (as the meeting? Has the chairperson your turnout and enough people opposed to the skills of a single or been involved in preparing the making calls to insure a good- select few individuals), the stronger are agenda or been fully briefed? turnout? your chances for success. Have you Do you have adequate translation Do you have a system for compar- asked people to serve as the: for non-English speakers? ing those who said they would come with those who actually Chairperson/facilitator? Agendas come? Note-taker? Timekeeper? You can think of an agenda as some- thing like a script. Try to imagine how As you plan your meeting, it can help Presenters? much you’d get done as the director of to determine roles for people already Tone-setters — to open and close a multi-million dollar movie without a involved in the campaign. For instance, meetings? script. Not very much. Similarly, meet- every meeting should have a chairper- Greeters — to welcome people ings need agendas to make them effi- son — someone who helps to develop and get names, phone numbers, cient. When you create an agenda, con- the agenda of the meeting, encourages sider beginning the meeting by present- everyone to participate in the meeting, addresses and e-mails? ing a particular proposal for the group and directs discussion towards making to act on. It is a good way to make decisions or accomplishing particular Many of the small towns in California your meeting move toward concrete goals. that have faced a prison have a signifi- cant population of non-English speak- goals, to generate discussion, and to ers (and English-only elected officials). keep large gatherings manageable. Though it may not always be conven- Imagine a small community group that ient, it’s best to change the chairperson By holding meetings exclusively in English or forgetting to accommodate has made headway in its effort to con- from meeting to meeting. Chairing a vince a city council member that a new meeting is a leadership opportunity, other languages, you may be cutting yourself off from a potentially rich prison will not bring any of the prom- and by giving many members of your ised benefits to their community. The group the opportunity to be the chair- source of support for your campaign. In doing so, you’d be repeating exactly group sponsors a meeting and invites person, you will build your group’s the council member. Because a large number of people attend and there is is hard to teach and almost impossible no clear agenda, the meeting deterio- Who will do what tasks? to learn by memorizing a set of rules. rates into a shouting match and the How long will each task take? opportunity to gain an elected official’s Who else will help? Having said that, we don’t want to support is lost. Score one for the prison leave you without any advice. Here are supporters. some things you can do to make sure S E T T I N G A S T R AT E G Y your strategizing is effective: Does the agenda: A strategy is a plan to getting to your Accomplish your agreed- goal. It is about understanding who can Assume everything will take upon goals? help you achieve your goal, and who longer than you think. Encourage commitment and will be opposed to what you are doing. Murphy’s Law is, as usual, in full involvement? It is also the “how” part of the organiz- effect: Anything that could possibly Provide visible leadership ing equation — How will you win? go wrong will go wrong. Always roles? What will you need to do in order to have a backup plan. Do you need: win? Will you pressure city council and Never over-commit yourself to other local government agencies to can- Printed agendas? any one particular strategy. When cel the hosting of the prison through circumstances change, you should Background materials? media work and attending hearings? be able to change your strategy Proposals? Will you hold a demonstration? Who along with them… Assignments will get in your way and what kind of power do they have? How can you win … Which means you should opponents to your side, and with what strategize and re-strategize. Make a A key component to a meeting is deter- arguments? habit of re-examining your cam- mining what steps need to be taken paign strategy at regular intervals. next and who will do what. This can be More than any other part of the anti- With changes in goals will come done either by assigning and/or asking prison work you will do, strategies changes in strategy. for volunteers for particular tasks or by depend upon the specifics of your situ- In general, strategies that rely creating “workgroups” to handle vari- ation. While the details of organizing upon the strengths of the group ous aspects of a campaign. If your change from community to communi- will be more sound than strategies group is large enough, you might have ty, there are some general guidelines that depend upon the work of indi- workgroups for research, fundraising, that we can refer to for meetings, out- viduals. outreach and canvassing, media, and reach, fundraising and media that we many others. However you organize can be reasonably sure you will use in your tasks, be sure to leave plenty of your community. But strategy is a little time at meetings to go over actions and trickier – it always depends upon the split up responsibilities for tasks. When specifics of a situation. The fact that someone in your group is a good friend you end your meetings, make sure with one of the city council members everyone is crystal clear about: might play an important role in your strategy. Or maybe your kid punched the City Manager’s kid in the mouth a couple years ago, so she/he won’t be your ally. The point is that strategizing As with everything else in a campaign get people interested, you can let them everyone involved. Maybe a lot of peo- that has a definite end-point, timing is know what they can do to help out. Be ple in your town work for one employ- always important. So make sure to ask creative in finding different ways for er, and getting the workers there to yourselves these key questions when people to become involved in the cam- support you would be really important. putting together a campaign strategy: paign. There will be people who cannot Do a lot of people speak another lan- be involved in everyday planning but guage besides English? Try to find lead- What is the schedule for imple- would come to a protest. Those people ers in communities of all language menting the plan to build the will be important when it comes time groups, so that you can reach out to all prison? to show city officials how much sup- of your potential supporters. port you have, and they need to be How and when will you inter- kept in the loop about your actions. Doing outreach is like offering an vene in the plan? opportunity to everyone you talk to – What tasks will need to happen A general plan for outreach often starts it’s about making people excited, mad, and in what order? by getting basic information to as many curious, and giving them a place to people as possible, and following up focus these emotions. Always leave your with those people. As more people contact information and the date, time F I N D I N G A N D D E V E L O P I N G become involved, your network will and location of the next meeting so A L L I E S expand, and you will start to build a people feel like there is some action to circle of organizers and a circle of sup- be taken. Here are a few first steps to While it may be obvious, the impor- porters. Always use the connections the doing outreach that you may be able to tance of allies bears repeating in the members of your group have to con- use or modify in your town: organizing context. The more people duct outreach in new places. If some of you have on your side, the more likely you work at the local high school, have Develop a flier that sets out your you are to stop a prison from being those people make announcements at built in your town. Broad support for basic reasons why a prison is a bad staff meetings. If some of you are in the idea: keeping a prison out of town translates Parent-Teacher Association for the ele- into real political power. While there Are the points short and easy to mentary school, make announcements read? Do they let people know why are many different kinds of allies, we’re there. going to focus on the two most likely they should care about the prison? to be the bread and butter of your Is it visually striking….will your flier group — residents just like yourselves When building a mental picture of the catch people’s eye? Do you have and other organizations. various connections the members of contact numbers in an obvious your group have to other groups, it is place so people know who to call if important to think about who you are they want more information? Does Outreach trying to reach and what the best way is your flier suggest a next step, like Outreach is basically talking to people, to reach them. You may have to use dif- attending one of your meetings or over and over and over. While it is a ferent strategies for different audiences. a town hall meeting? crucial part of any effective campaign, Making announcements at meetings it is often the most time-consuming may be effective for one community, Distribute your flier: and basic part of your organizing but going door-to-door may be neces- Everywhere. Hand out fliers at efforts. To get a lot of people to hear sary to get another community on places that receive a lot of foot traf- your message and agree with you, you board. Maybe everyone attends church, fic – popular stores, local shows or have to start at the beginning – letting and by getting the support of the fairs. Put them up on bulletin them know what is going on. As you churches you will get the support of boards, in schools, at City Hall, in the library – anywhere that you can trying to curb the incarceration of Here is an example of a petition local pin it up, pin it. youth (the vast majority of whom came organizers put together as part of an from a few neighborhoods throughout on-going campaign against a federal Sign everyone up: New York City) began to look at inter- prison in the small town of Mendota, vening in order to force the state to California. At every meeting and every time fund youth programs rather than youth you talk to someone, get contact prisons. At the same time, residents of We, the residents of Mendota, information so you can let them Bainbridge, one of the upstate towns know about other things you are demand that the City Council and targeted for the siting of the prison, Mayor cease all proposal negotia- organizing. Keep a master list of all began organizing against the prison. the phone numbers or emails you tions with the Federal Bureau of Soon thereafter, urban youth activists Prison to build a federal prison in have. and the rural residents of Bainbridge our community. We demand that joined forces, demanding that the $75 the City Council and Mayor imme- Call everyone on your list: million that the prison would have cost diately run front-page advertise- be spent on real economic development Call them when you have a meeting ments in the Mendota Newspaper in rural New York and real programs, or when you have a large event tak- and all other Fresno county Spanish jobs and housing. In May of 2002, ing place. Send out a mass email. and English media notifying all resi- under the pressure of the coalition and Remember, however, that although dents of the March 8, 2004 dead- their organizing work, New York State line for comments to the Federal emails are a good way to let a lot of removed the prison from the budget. people know what is going on Bureau of Prisons. quickly, many people do not have email access. This alliance may seem unlikely, but We, the residents of Mendota and remember: prisons benefit no one, so Fresno County demand that new potential allies are everywhere. As the hearings be held regarding the Coalitions Farmersville story demonstrates, it is Another way that you can strengthen proposed prison in Mendota, after important to think about what you the publication of a new environ- the influence of your group is to join have in common with other people that with other groups engaged in common mental impact report fully in you can use to unite people for a com- Spanish. We demand that these or overlapping causes. When two mon good. groups come together in common cause and all hearings concerning prison we call this a coalition. Why form construction in and around Fresno Just as with strategizing, there are no them? Because two groups are better County be conducted in at least hard and fast rules for building coali- than one. Because building a coalition both Spanish and English. We chal- tions. You take them where you can might effectively increase your group’s lenge all levels of government, find them and use them to further your membership. And because coalitions Local, State and Federal elected goals. The important thing to keep in have the power to reach many more officials, to extend fair and timely mind here is that you should always be individuals with their message than do notification to all the residents of looking to form coalitions. With so individual groups. Fresno County and Mendota so many potential negatives involved with that concerned citizens can plan to a prison, there will be any number of address environmental justice The state of New York was developing potential groups that might want to plans to build a new youth prison in issues concerning the building of join in coalition with you —organiza- excessive prisons in Fresno County upstate New York. Youth and adult tions of parents worried about and the surrounding Central Valley. activists from New York City, who were increased traffic, farmers concerned with the loss of groundwater, environ- tion and tell them a little about you The proposed prison will cost the mentalists who want to prevent the loss and/or the campaign. Stop This city/county $X million in infrastructure of native habitat for wildlife, etc. Outrageous Prison (STOP) is one improvements, which won’t benefit any Because the prison will help almost no example from a group in rural local residents. one and will harm many, almost every- California. one is a potential ally and the possibili- You should put together a list of talking ties for creating new coalition partners Second, spend a little time defining points and pass them out to members is unlimited. your group. Who are you? The of your group. Education not Incarceration Coalition Publicity defines itself like this: Now that you have a name, an identity, A major factor in your success will be and a message, you’re ready to blast that how well you get the word out to as Education Not Incarceration is a message out. Some of your outreach, many people as you can. You can think group of teachers, parents, stu- especially in the early stages, will be of this as educating your neighbors, as dents, and community members one-on-one or in small groups that you publicity, as public relations, or as sell- who are outraged by the current invite to lunch or coffee, to the park, or ing your ideas. However you imagine cuts in education funding. We to your home. That’s how you pull it, you must inform more people about believe that the state budget needs together your initial organizing group. the real effects of the proposed prison to prioritize education funding, as Later in the campaign, you’ll still do and convince them to take action. well as funding for other important one-on-one outreach, especially to indi- It is useful to think of every part of the social services, over increased viduals who you’ve identified as poten- campaign in terms of publicity or edu- spending on prisons. tially very useful to have as part of the cation value. When you’re stuck about coalition — perhaps your group doesn’t what to do next or how to choose Try to express a positive message in yet include a local farmer or rancher among a list too long to finish, ask your group’s definition. You’re not just and you think other ranchers would which actions will get the word out against a prison. You are residents who hear the message more readily from one most effectively. When planning any want to see development with real ben- of their own. Or maybe you don’t have sort of activity, think about how to use efit to the community. any Spanish speakers to do outreach to it to publicize the campaign. residents who are not comfortable speaking in English. Third, you need to develop your coali- There are dozens of creative ways to get tion’s key talking point. A talking point out the word: putting up signs in peo- is a simple, one or two sentence state- As important as those small-scale ple’s yards and businesses; printing up ment which summarizes the arguments encounters are, you also have to reach T-shirts with slogans; hanging banners against the prison in as straightforward out to larger groups. One of the most across the fronts of buildings; and hold- a manner as possible. Here are a couple effective ways to do that is to use local ing parties, concerts, and speeches. But of examples: and regional media. Get TV or radio to before we talk about any of the means report on the proposed prison. Get of getting your message out, let’s spend newspapers to write stories about your a minute talking about your message. Studies show that local residents won’t group. Use public meetings to raise get most jobs at the prison, and that your views in front of the media. Go most of the people who get them won’t First, who are you? It is fine to speak on talk radio and local TV interview live here. for yourself, but it’s also useful to have shows to talk about the proposed an organizational identity. A name prison. should catch people’s eye and imagina- A PRISON WILL HELP ALMOST NO ONE AND WILL HARM MANY...... ALMOST EVERYONE IS A POTENTIAL ALLY IN YOUR FIGHT. The media is a powerful tool both in make are consistent with your final many local papers, the fact that a group local campaigns to stop specific prisons, goals of local residents is opposing a project as well as in the long-term work of can be enough, especially if they know changing the “terms of debate” about G E T T I N G T H E M E D I A O N B OA R D there will be multiple people speaking prisons in this country. Often times, the myths about prisons and the “bene- In order to get the local media to even in public. If you want to draw TV cov- fits” of prisons are the prevailing mes- cover your story in the first place, you erage, give them something visual to sage in the media, whether in local have to convince them that your cam- shoot — banners, posters, signs, T- papers and radio or in the national paign is newsworthy. It’s not helpful to shirts, puppets. At any public event to media. In your efforts to gain publicity, just call the local newspaper and say, which you’ve invited the press, make you can move the issue in a direction “There is a meeting where the City sure to have some of your group mem- you would like it to go. For instance, if Council is going to discuss whether or bers easily identifiable as “press con- a prison is presented as a solution to not to build a prison.” They’ll think to tacts.” These are people who the media hard economic times and a quick solu- themselves: “So? Why should someone can approach and interview. Remember tion for jobs, you can move the debate come for that? Don’t those kinds of your talking points and repeat them. to the issue of what kind of jobs will be meetings happen all the time?” Instead, Are there other short term goals for any generated. Activists all across the coun- you need to present whatever newswor- particular event? Can you use the press try have effectively used the media to thy event is taking place from a certain to announce your next meeting? educate the public about the real effects angle – a “hook” – something that of prisons on rural and urban commu- would catch the media’s interest. nities. Rather than thinking of the It will be worth your while to spend some time putting together a media list media as friend or enemy, you might What sorts of things make a good consider how you can best use it to fur- – newspapers, radio and TV stations, “hook”? One way is to connect your local, county-wide, regional and so on. ther your goals. Therefore, an organiz- local story to a larger problem, that is, er’s job is not just to make the media What papers do people in your town show how something happening right read? People in the county seat? cover her or his issue, but to create and in your own community is an example implement a plan for using the media. National media can be helpful too. of a national issue. For instance, you When The Los Angeles Times and New can focus on how prisons get sited just York Times wrote major stories about It’s helpful to think about all of your like hazardous waste facilities — in the Delano II prison, the campaign got organizing work as a publicity cam- poor, rural, and seemingly “powerless” a big boost. paign. In a way, what you’re doing is communities, underneath the public’s trying to convince people of your point radar. Or, if a local politician, who sup- of view. Every time you call a friend, ports the prison, has some kind of con- However, reporters are just like every- potential ally, or elected official, pass flict of interest (for example, he owns a one else in this world. You need to have out a flyer at a meeting, or make a sign, construction company that would likely a relationship with your local media if you’re doing publicity. In other words, get a contract to help build the prison), you want to get really complete, consis- you’re presenting your views to other that could be a potential hook for talk- tent coverage. This requires a little people, and making a case for why they ing about the lack of accountability and background work. First, identify what should agree with you. So every time lack of democratic decision-making reporters and editors cover the kinds of you communicate with people, it’s that happens in the process of siting a stories you will be pitching. If your important that your information is easy prison. Those sorts of hooks can help strategy is to highlight the backroom to understand. It’s also important that your story have “legs,” bringing the politics of the prison deal, look through the information and arguments you media back to it over and over. For the papers for a few weeks and identify writers who cover similar stories. Second, cultivate a relationship with you have a cell phone, list it, along It’s just the way press releases are these reporters and editors. If you tell with the name of the person who supposed to end, and it makes them you have a great “human interest” will be carrying it at the event/press your press release look official.) story and they should cover the town conference. Another great thing about having a meeting next week on the prison siting, Do you have a bilingual or multi- press release is that it’s easy to trans- call them afterwards and follow up with lingual contact person, especially if form into an opinion piece for a paper, them.Call them and thank them if they your community is bilingual? Have or a short article for any organization’s came, and ask them if they have any you done outreach to media in lan- newsletter. Make each point from the other questions. Just like you build a guages other than English? press release into a short paragraph. relationship with the allies in your Is the headline short and to the That way, when organizations need struggle, build a relationship with spe- something to print quickly, they can cific members of the press. point? (Don’t struggle too hard in coming up with a headline. The use the expanded press release and take media probably won’t use yours the points that are most suitable for their issues. This also allows plenty of Press Releases anyway.) room to tailor your article to a specific One of the most important forms of Is the copy double-spaced? getting the media’s attention is by issu- organization. For instance, if a teachers’ ing a press release. You should put out a Does the first paragraph explain association wants to publish an article release around a newsworthy event, like who, what, why, when and where? on why a prison would not help the a big meeting, or a demonstration. You Have you quoted key leaders in town’s youth in their newsletter, you need to think carefully about what kind the second and third paragraphs? can pick the points from the article that of event you are hoping to draw the Have you cleared the quotes work the best. Maybe you have already press to, and if you realistically expect with them first? (Remember that written that a prison doesn’t address the reporters to come. The release should who you quote is an organizational needs of people in your town, and you pitch your issue, incorporating all your decision. Often, the quotes will could simply add onto this statement hooks and strategies as reasons why this come from members of your so that it specifically emphasizes the particular event is a great news story. groupyou have become local needs of your schools and children. Here are some quick tips to guide your experts on the proposed prison. press release. You are the experts.). The Press Conference Have you listed your organiza- Press conferences are great ways to fol- Is the release on organizational tion’s name several times? low up on a release and to create a stir. letterhead? Since you’ve given your Are all names, titles, and organi- They make you highly visible and get organization a name, it is easy with zations spelled correctly? your point of view out in public. Think today’s computers to create simple Is each sheet marked with an of press conferences as mini demonstra- letterhead, with your group’s name, abbreviated headline? (Try to keep tions – they need to be very public and open, with articulate, concise speakers address, phone number, etc. your release to two pages. One is who can present your talking points in Is the release dated and marked better.) either 1)“for immediate release” or a way that is easy for everybody to Is a PHOTO OPPORTUNITY men- digest. Press conferences usually consist 2) to be released at a later, specific tioned if there is one? (If so, send a day and time? of a few speakers who briefly address copy of the release to the photo different aspects of your issue and rep- Is the contact person’s name and editor.) resent your organization. They need to phone number (day and evening) Did you put “-30-“ or “####” at be located in a place that is easily acces- listed at the top of the release? If the end of the press release? (Why? sible. You also need to have press pack- Sample Press Release For Immediate Release: June 14, 2001 Contact: Stephen Raher, (719) 475-8059 or [email protected] NEWS RELEASE Community group charges State with cutting corners in Fort Lyon prison planning process COLORADO SPRINGS: The Colorado Prison Moratorium Coalition (CPMC) has announced a challenge to the state's explanation of what might happen. The environmental review plans to convert the Fort Lyon Veteran's Hospital into a process is supposed to be about gathering public input, but prison. Today the CPMP sent a letter to the state Departmnet it’s a meaningless activity if people aren’t given a balanced of Corrections (DOC) requesting a more thorough study of presentation of the facts.” the potential impacts that the new Fort Lyon correctional Facility (FLCF) could have on the people of Bent Conuty. After Governor Owens expressed strong public support for the jobs that FLCF would bring to southeastern Colorado, Before the hospital can be converted into a prison, a federally- the legislature approved the prison over the objections of mandated environmental review must be completed. The Senator Penfield Tate (D-Denver) who warned his colleagues DOC released a Draft Environmental Assessment in may that “if we continue to look at prison construction as a form concluding that the conversion would have little impact on of economic development in our state, we’re lost.” the environment, but the CPMC asserts that the document does not contain a sufficiently thorough discussion of the pos- The Rural Prisons Initiative was created at the CPMC when sible social and economic effects. Coalition members saw that prisons are being marketed to rural towns as economic development tools. The Coalition is According to Stephen Raher, the Co-Coordinator of the a network of over 80 organizations and faith communities Coalition (and author of the letter), “rural towns in Colorado from across the state who have come together to call for an all too often view a prison as a wonderful way to spark eco- end to further prison expansion in order to redirect funding nomic development. Unfortunately the reality is that prison and policy priorities to crime prevention, drug, alcohol and towns are burdened with many long-term collateral costs in mental health treatment, and alternatives to incarceration. return for a handful of jobs.” Coalition Co-Coordinator Christie Donner explains that Fort Raher explains on the most severe effects could be on local Lyon is just one of several new prison projects which are cur- medical agencies. “the whole state and southeastern Colorado rently underway. “The Department of Corrections is the in particulat is experiencing a severe nursing shortage, and fastest growing department in the state government,” com- DOC wants to hire 110 nurses to work at Fort Lyon. If they mented Donner, “and it is growing at the expense of educa- are going to meet their goal, it almost certainly will be at the tion, health care, transportation, and other areas the expense of local hospitals and health care facilities, which can’t Coloradans are concerned about.” In fact, the DOC received offer wages and benefits that compete with the state’s com- a 13.4% increase in General Fund dollars for Fiscal Year pensation plan.” 2001-02, the second largest increase of any department.

In addition to outlining areas for further study, the CPMC’s Donner warns that “for the long term health of Colorado, we letter asks the DOC to prepare an Environmental Impact must begin to follow the lead of other western states and Statement, which goes into greater detail than the reevaluate our use of prisons as a panacea for social Environmental Assessment that the Department has already problems.” completed. “My primary concern,” said Raher, “is that the people of Bent County are not getting a full and fair ### ets on hand. These are folders of infor- follow-up calls to the media? is just as important. Many of the strate- mation that provide reporters with Are there visuals, charts, or gies we listed in the outreach section background material on your issue, graphs needed at the press confer- are also other ways you have to spread your organization, and contact ence? the word. Here are a few other things information. Who is writing each person’s pres- we have seen towns do that you can use entation? Are there good, quotable to help get your message out: When organizing a press conference, sound bites? Sponsor an event with a local here are some things to think about. Is someone drafting a question artist and answer sheet for anticipated Have the date, time, and place questions at the press conference? Hold a community forum to dis cuss the prison and related issues. been cleared with all the speakers? Is a time set for speakers to Are there other media conflicts rehearse their presentations and Invite both sides to a forum in (e.g. another major event or press answers to the anticipated ques- which you’ve determined the agen- conference)? tions? da, the questions to be discussed etc. This will keep the meeting Do you need to reserve the space Are materials being prepared for open to everyone, but also allow days in advance? the press kit? you to keep some control over the Is the room large enough? Press release meeting. Will you need a public address Background information on Hand out fliers at popular events system? speakers Fact sheet in town Have volunteers been recruited Organizational background Set up a table with a few infor- to set up and clean up the room Copies of speakers’ state mational fliers at fairs, outside of before and after the press confer ments ence? supermarkets, other foot-traffic Will your organization’s name be friendly place and staff it so you Who is sending the press projected well through signs, can talk to people who express releas es? posters, buttons and so forth? interest Do you have a good list of local Is there someone to greet the Make announcements at other and regional press contacts? media? meetings Newspaper, radio & TV? Is someone in your group going Hold a house party Can you do outreach to media in to take photographs? languages other than English? Do Are volunteers assigned to watch you have press contacts who speak for stories in various media? other languages? Can you produce materials in other languages? Most Spanish language radio and TV will B E YO N D T H E M E D I A respond to an English language press release if it lists a Spanish As we said in the beginning of this sec- speaking contact. tion, a lot of the organizing work you do doubles as publicity. Don’t think Who is making follow-up phone that getting your message in papers and calls to the media? on television is the only way to get the Is there a script and/or talking word out. While having a strategy for points available for those making attracting media is important, outreach How to have a house party Since organizing often begins among friends who share a common cause, host- ing a house party can be a good way to draw all of you together, raise awareness and enthusiasm, and get new people involved. It also shows your campaign is people-friendly, which can win a lot of points when you are fighting a bureau- cratic, impersonal arm of the government. If you have ever thrown a party before, which many people have, you’ll know it requires a little more planning than you think it will, but it always ends up being worthwhile.

What are your goals for the Pick a good location. party? More volunteers? Fund rais Do you want to have food? If so, ing? Persuading certain people that will there be a buffet or will there the prison is a bad idea? Make sure just be some snacks? Do you have that everyone working on the party plates, forks, knives, cups, etc? is clear about the goals. Do you have some sort of decora- Make sure you pick a good date tions? Remember why you are host- to have your party. Check if there is ing the party - any fliers, banners, or another big event people will want signs you have against the prison to go to, or maybe host it on a long can be set out. weekend. Make fun fliers that also draw Tell people far in advance - that attention to why you are hosting the way the date will stick in their heads. party. Call and remind people close to the date. Leave yourself plenty of time the day of the party to get ready. The Do you have some sort of enter- worst feeling is to be rushing around tainment? Make sure you have music with a million odds and ends to fin- - whether it is a big pile of CD’s or a ish up. great DJ. Do you have someone to help you Be certain you collect people’s set up and clean up? A little moral names and contact information with support is always welcome. a sign-in sheet. Anyone who has had a party also Who will speak? It is good to have knows they cost money. You could some time for everyone as a group also have a box for donations, pass to ask you – the experts - questions, the hat at the party, or charge a as well as to have unstructured time cover at the door. for one-on-one conversations. Using the Internet Some of us don’t have access to computers, and some seem unable to live without them. But these days, a lot of people learn news and get involved politically through initial contact through the Internet.

There are a couple ways you can use e-mail and the internet to help organize. At every event you hold, you’ll have a sign-in sheet. Make sure that you collect people’s email addresses along with their phone numbers. It’s a good idea to have a checkbox for people to mark whether they prefer to be contacted via email or phone. Set up at least two lists (or groups) of email addresses. One should include the organizers, those who have been attend- ing coalition meetings and who are working actively on the cam- paign. The second should include the sign-ins who aren’t active in the day-to-day but who might be turn out for a meeting at city hall, a march to the high school, or a demonstration. As you set up subcommittees, those groups might also have their own email lists.

If you have an Internet savvy high school student or small busi- ness owner or teacher among you, you probably have the skills to set up a simple web site. At first it might contain only your organization name, contact phone and email and the next meet- ing date. As you develop press releases and other written materi- al, you can post them on your website, along with photos of your activities. Many Internet providers offer space for a simple website to their email subscribers for little or no cost. As an example, take a look at the Education not Incarceration site at:

http://www.ednotinc.org P U B L I C S P E A K I N G the material and help you to be a better a very tight timeline, you might find public speaker….and save you tons of that you are not able to develop a full You’ll notice that many of these ideas time by not writing a new speech every strategy for raising funds for your cam- require speaking in front of many peo- time! paign. Therefore we’re giving sugges- ple, unafraid to argue for your cause. tions for only a few, very specific ideas Many people dread public speaking Public speaking is all about finding the and resources for short-term and last- because they think they “just aren’t best way to approach people, similar to minute fundraising. good at it,” but all it requires is a little when you find allies. Think about who practice. A good way to get the neces- you are addressing. What is your audi- First, call us, the California Prison sary practice is by using a standard ence’s main concern? What do they care Moratorium Project. We have a small speech at all your public speaking about and how does it relate to a prison nest egg for just this kind of thing, so opportunities – that way you get plenty being built? What tone is most appro- please don’t hesitate to ask. If we don’t of practice saying it! priate for them – are they younger, have it, we may have specific ideas older, more conservative, more grass- about emergency grants and other Start by spending some time on your roots? Will they be most swayed by big organizations, like the National speech. Write it in advance and practice words or a strong plan of action? Resource Center for Prisons and it with everyone you know. Write it Communities, that may be able to pro- using statements you are very comfort- Once you have a basic speech that cov- vide emergency funding support to able making, the ones that you say over ers your reasons for why a prison is a prison moratorium campaigns. and over to people when trying to bad idea, you can use it for many dif- prove your point. ferent occasions. Much like adjusting Second, many social justice foundations your press release, you will have to have what they call Emergency Funds. Your standard speech should have a few adjust your speech for different audi- They are relatively easy to apply for and opening paragraphs that lay out your ences. you can get a response pretty quickly. key talking points. First, list the reasons For ideas about funds such as these you the proposed prison is bad for the town Remember, public speaking doesn’t can begin by asking us at PMP, as well and the region. Explain why the prison- have to be at official meetings or in as other organizations that you begin supporters miss the bigger picture. But official halls. Any place you think of to working with. you can then insert a few paragraphs conduct outreach, you could also give a that tweak the speech for the audience. modified version of your speech. Try to Third, look to your own members, and Using these guidelines, you can take a set up an opportunity to make a brief see if they have networks of people to basic speech that you develop on why presentation on why your town doesn’t approach for money. As you’ll quickly you don’t want a prison and simply need a prison at organizational meet- find out, every dollar counts and adjust the way you dress it up. ings or conferences. money can come from unlikely places. The only sure bet is that if you don’t Write versions of different lengths. F U N D R A I S I N G ask, you won’t get any. Sometimes you’ll have 5 minutes to Organizing costs money, though not speak at an event. Other times you’ll And lastly, think of all the ways in necessarily very much. Those who do it have 15 or 30. Once basic talks of dif- which you’ve raised money for your over the long-haul have a variety of ferent lengths are written, all members other community groups, churches, fairly sophisticated methods for raising of the group can use them. Using this mosques, etc. Bake sales, dinners, con- money for their causes. But because plan will make you comfortable with certs, ads in programs, garage sales, and most campaigns to stop prisons are on in-kind donations (such as the use of space, a car, a sound system, etc.) – all Advice from Brian Sponsler and of these are ways to raise funds for your Debbie Hand, two activists who group. There are individuals and successfully fought off a prison in organizations in your town who can Tehachapi, California. and will contribute financially who might not able to help in other ways. ‘…work the local press as Don’t be shy about asking for financial much as you can. You need help. The point here is to try to be as to present it as ‘we have a creative as possible and to remember hot story for you.’” that these efforts, though they may seem relatively unimportant, are, again, ‘We needed a good agenda opportunities to learn leadership and at the meetings to keep organizing skills. everyone from straying off because emotions were R E C A P high…” We’ve really only scratched the surface of organizing. Many of the most useful At the city council meeting: lessons you’ll learn by diving in and “We arranged for people to trying it yourself. Don’t be afraid to speak on ten areas…that make mistakes. Each mistake is a the prison would affect us.” chance to learn from it so that you don’t make it again. As we said earlier, “If anything did it for us in organizing is about communicating — communicating with your neighbors, the organizing it was the communicating with city officials, with phone tree.” the media, and with other organiza- tions. The more you do it, the better “You basically have to show you’ll get. From here we’ll be giving a good show of force.” you a more comprehensive look at the siting process and the opportunities for “You have to jump on it intervening and gaining leverage to right away.” stop it. “It is important you keep your main points clear and stress these points over and over.” SITING and intervention It is very daunting visualizing the exact land, designing the buildings, and dents aren’t looking or can’t see. points where your organization can developing infrastructure. Decision-makers try to attract a prison actually stop a prison construction by sweetening up the deal through project. But, in reality, both federal and The communities, however, did not agreements such as land sales, zoning state governments are required by law give up. In Madras, Oregon, the com- changes, and promises of locally-paid to jump through a series of hoops munity ran an ad in the local paper infrastructural development. Prison before actually starting to build a showing how poor children and the supporters then present the bargain to prison. This means there are actually elderly would be harmed by rising community members as “done deals.” many opportunities for you to inter- rents. Community members brought in vene—and it may only take one victory their own “experts” to discuss the However, the actual process for creating to put an end to the prison impact of a prison on the local farm a mini-city (which a prison really is) is economy. In the sixth year of struggle, quite complicated, and there are lots of The “siting” process are the bureaucrat- the prisons were cancelled, thanks in chances to break into the process and ic procedures that state, regional, and large part to the efforts of community keep it from moving forward. In this local officials must follow in order to members. Oregon’s recent decision to chapter we list a number of such open- decide exactly where a new prison will close several prisons in the state proves ings according to two criteria: what you be built Siting begins when officials that there was no need for more prisons can do and who you need to see in announce their plans to build a prison, in the first place. Imagine if the money order to do it. and it doesn’t end until construction wasted on prison planning and siting begins. It might be possible to stop a had instead been used to improve local It is important to understand the siting prison even after ground is broken, but schools, farm-product market access, process. For this handbook we have the siting process is your group’s best and other investments to enhance the focused on the parts that you will be bet to stop a prison from being built in well-being of local residents! able to most influence. First, either the your town. state or federal government or a private The bottom line is that in spite of a corporation (like Wackenhut) decides While common sense says that the ear- state governor’s plan and a prison to build a prison. Once a possible site is lier you intervene in the process the bureaucracy’s action to build new pris- identified, the land owner is contacted, better your chances for success, we’ve ons, no new prisons were built. The and the proposed site is studied to also learned through experience that it reason why? Because local residents of make sure the prison, if built, would is never too late to try. For an example, small towns were able to intervene in meet all state and federal zoning, safety let’s jump back a few years to 1995 in the siting process. and environmental regulations. Often the state of Oregon. the government will hire a private cor- The Oregon example is somewhat poration to make these assessments, In that year, the Governor of the unusual: it is more likely for a town to write up a report, and submit it to local Beaver State, John Kitzhaber, persuaded request a prison than to have one decision-makers. Usually at this point the legislature to give him exclusive forced onto its city limits. For most the City Council will vote on whether power to site and build prisons wherev- industries of last resort (the kinds of or not to approve the project. It is only er he wished. Two of the communities industries that locate in a town when after the prison is approved by all the picked under this “fast track” process no others will, like incinerators, waste various regulating agencies—City protested that they did not want pris- and recycling facilities, prisons, or ani- Council, Water Quality Board, County ons, but the Oregon Department of mal processing plants), the people who Board of Supervisors, and so on—that Corrections ignored them and began make initial siting decisions are more the land will be bought and the con- preparing to build anyway, acquiring likely to cut backroom deals when resi- struction will begin. In order to make this information easi- DECONSTRUCTING ‘NEED’ er to use, we have put it into table for- Political, Economic mat. We have listed out each opportu- nity fopr intervention (WHAT); who What you need to talk to intervene - the Challenge the prison department’s claim that it “needs” to office, institution, department or indi- build a particular prison. vidual official that has the power to stop a prison from being built — as Who well as why they have such power. (WHO); and some strategies to go State Legislatures, Governors or other Chief Executives. about doing it (HOW). We have also put in italics the type of strategy we are How listing: Legal remedies include getting You can argue that the money spent on the prison would be laws passed or repealed, or going to better spent on preventing imprisonment if it was used for court to challenge a prison’s actual site things like education, job training, economic development, or siting process. Political remedies and other things that your town probably really needs. include building local opposition to sit- ing amongst the residents so that the Your group can schedule a meeting with decision-makers or decision-makers in your town will have their representatives. If denied or disappointed, you can to cancel the project (like the hold a rally outside the capitol or appropriate local office. Farmersville story). Economic remedies Gather signed petitions from people who live in a particular include stopping the flow of money elected official’s district protesting the prison siting. Most being used to build or to start up the importantly, don’t be intimidated by fancy titles or offices. prison, preventing the side deals such as These guys are people just like everyone else — and it’s extra highway construction from going through, or finding a different buyer good for people like you to remind them every once in a for the land a prison was supposed to while. be built on. For example, a local com- munity could start up a community farming cooperative to buy the land and use it for farming, rather than for warehousing prisoners.

The words “legal,” “political” and “economic” at the top of each description refer to the type of strategy it is. Don’t be con- fused if you see more than one letter after one of the descrip- tions in the left-hand column — often times a particular opening will require a mix of strategies to get the job done. YOUR CIVIL RIGHTS REPRESENT! Political, Economic Political

What What Argue that the prison siting is a civil rights violation. Influence local politics – as your representatives, they Federal and state Civil Rights Acts prohibit discrimination should represent your views. Make your voices heard. on the basis of race, class and national origin. The federal act also requires that if a program is receiving federal Who money and is found to be discriminating against people or You and your community of voters. communities, that their funding will be withdrawn. How Who Generally, local governments, such as councils and boards Depends upon the project, but the federal and state of supervisors, vote to approve prison siting. If they’ve Departments of Justice and the funding agencies behind already voted, If you can target pro-prison officials, either the prison, such as the Federal Bureau of Prisons. to recall them or prevent them from winning the next elec- tions. If there hasn’t been a vote, you can lobby the City How Council, showing representatives how clearly your commu- Since so many prisons are located in poor towns of pre- nity does not support the prison. Use petitions, rallies and dominantly people of color, often discrimination is an inte- events to specifically demand that the Council members gral part prison siting is a civil rights violation. Federal and vote NO on the prison. Attend Council meetings and testi- state Civil Rights Acts prohibit discrimination on the basis fy. Organize as many people as possible to call local repre- of race, class and national origin. The federal act also sentative offices, or draft a letter for people to send in, and requires that if a program is receiving federal money and is gather signatures at your rallies. found to be discriminating against people or communities, that their funding will be withdrawn. Community organizer Debbie Hand gained a strong sense of how local politics worked fighting off a prison and hospi- You can file a complaint with the agency that is heading up tal in Tehachapi, California. She identified “smart-growth” the siting process, under the US Civil Rights Act. You could coalitions and together she learned there was local political also file a lawsuit. This sort of strategy requires a lot of support for well-planned, community based economic research and pouring over site plans, environmental impact growth. Like Debbie Hand, you can identify decision mak- reports, and even interviewing decision makers involved in ers who are your direct representatives and hold them the process. You need a “smoking gun” that shows how accountable for their actions. You can also find out what race or class influenced the siting decision. issues they have campaigned around to see if they have broken promises to support community-based develop- ment by voting for a prison. Be sure to attend all City Council meetings that have prison issues on the agenda and testify. Don’t forget, these are your elected officials making claims about what is best for you – you can demand to be part of the process. YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW CAUSING TROUBLE Legal Political

What What Track down documents with information that prison boost- Make the siting process a long and unpleasant one, with ers aren’t sharing. The Freedom of Information allows any mounting costs for the prison developers and supporters person to request a copy of federal documents. Of course, there are some things that you won’t be able to get, but many of the documents that pertain to the prison siting Who process are ones that you are entitled to see by law. States Corrections Agency Siting Office; local landowners; local and county government; local, regional, and statewide leg- have similar laws you can use to get state documents. islators.

Who How The Federal Department of Justice or your state’s Fight the landowners who hope to profit off the sale; the Department of Justice. state, private or contracted officials who have to deal with your town; legislators who think guiding the prison into How your town was an easy siting solution; or anybody else plan- Gaining access to the paper trail will give you insights into ning to get political or economic profits from the project. the strategies that the government itself is using to get the Make sure you generate a lot of publicity on the motiva- prison built in your hometown. Having this information will tions of these decision-makers, and highlight all the ways in make you aware of more opportunities for you to intervene. which the community has been excluded from the process – It also shows officials that you are aware of your rights and lack of notices, poor translation, or lack of public meetings. able to act accordingly. Bad publicity can generate a lot of change.

Submit a written statement requesting to see documents The strategies used in this situation can be as basic as gen- under the Freedom of Information Act or the Public Records erating a lot of bad publicity for someone who wants to sell Act, depending on whether it is state or federal records you their land so that cages can be built on it.They can be more are after. If you have internet access there are many web- complicated, like tactics opposing the legal legitimacy of sites that can show you how to do this. Be sure to include a different aspects of the prison. For example, in Los detailed description of the documents you would like to Angeles, a group of six housewives and one husband see, because the government office won’t give you anything formed a group called the Mothers of East Los Angeles (Las more than what you ask for. Madres del Este de Los Angeles) to stop a prison that the state had already designated for their neighborhood. They fought for nine years to shut down the project. Eight years into the fight, the tide turned in their favor when the landowner grew tired of waiting to seal the deal with the state and found someone else to buy his property. A PUBLIC PROCESS WHAT’S THE ENVIRONMENT GOT Legal TO DO WITH IT? Legal What What Force officials to hold a truly open siting process. Force Demand prison projects meet all environmental laws, regu- prison officials to publish and translate clear and detailed lations, and requirements for public participation. The information about the impact of the prison. Many but not all Environmental Protection Act requires that projects using states have “sunshine laws” requiring that ordinary people federal money meet all standards for protecting the air, have adequate notice of meetings and proposals that will water, natural, cultural, and historical place where projects affect their lives. Prison officials often obey the letter of the are built and is required to produce an ‘environmental law, but not its spirit. They fail to give truly adequate notice impact report’ assessing the impact of the project on the of meetings to working people, or hold the meetings at environment. It also requires a “no-project alternative,” times or in locations that are hard for folks to make. In addi- which is a fancy way of saying that they have to explain tion, “sunshine laws” require that public records be freely truthfully what would happen if the project were not built. available for public inspection. Who Who Federal Court, Environmental Protection Agency, Regional Any governmental body holding hearings or having the Air Quality Management District, Regional Water Quality power to grant a permit for a prison development project. Management District, and/or regional Transportation State or federal courts. District, depending on which environmental resource might be harmed by the prison; local environmental organizations. How Challenge slipshod notices, or notices written in language that townsfolk cannot understand (for example, English-only How notices in bi- or multilingual communities). Challenge fancy Under the law, ordinary folks can demand public hearings or jargon-loaded notices that make the meetings sound on the project and submit comments. Get as many people technical and only for specialists. Challenge prison officials’ as possible to write in comments. You can also file com- attempts to make it difficult to either get your hands on or plaints that the length of public comment time was too to read important reports and studies relating to the pro- short, and there was not proper notification of the posed prison. Environmental Impact Report and its comment period. If not satisfied with the outcome of these interventions, communi- You can use public pressure to hold the government bodies ty groups can file suit in courts. accountable to the law and ensure your participation in processes like these. Use some of the strategies already dis- Attend all of the meetings that are related to the potential cussed, such as testifying in city hall, petitions, and demon- impacts of the prison. Request copies of all Environmental strations will empower you and the other members of your Impact Statements and Reports that are produced, and community and show that the united voices of ordinary folks request translations in the most common language spoken have a lot of power. You can also look into suing different in your town – these are all public documents you have a agencies for violating sunshine laws, on the grounds that right to ask for. Make sure you meet all their deadlines— their actions prevented meaningful public participation. and organize other people to do it too. Keep a copy of everything you submit so you can prove you did it. EVEN WITHOUT TIME AND MONEY ON YOUR SIDE, YOU SHOULDN'T HESITATE TO TAKE UP THE STRUGGLE. WHY? BECAUSE WE'VE SEEN FOLKS COME OUT WINNING, AGAIN AND AGAIN. TAX BREAKS FOR PRISONS? PLANNING A BETTER COMMUNITY Economic, Political Legal, Political, Economic What What Use zoning laws to argue that the prison should not be Show that the prison might not pay its share of the tax bill built. Cities, counties, and states have bodies that regulate and make other tax revenue disappear. Economic develop- changes in land use and oversee zoning. Many places have ment zones define certain places as special districts eligible local or regional planning bodies that map out a future for for tax breaks, development grants, and other economic the region based on what should be the best use of land incentives, provided that those places generate a workable and other resources. development plan.

Who Who Depending on who defines and pays for the development City government, county government, and regional districts zone, the Federal Department of Housing and Urban that govern air, water, transportation, tourism and recre- Development; or state, county, and city redevelopment ation, and other particularly fragile relationships of land-use agencies. to community well-being.

How How Make the people in charge of creating the plans explain Planning for prisons is usually very poor. Prisons are usually how they calculated the economic benefits of the prison. crammed into already-existing plans. Sometimes no plan is Demand that other factors be taken into consideration – ever drawn up even though it is required by local or state like whether or not prison employees actually live in the law! Someone else’s attempt to cut corners could be your town, if the majority are transferred from other prisons, etc. golden opportunity. You can use poor planning in two dif- These employees won’t be paying taxes in your town. If a ferent ways: 1) Demand local planning and zoning laws and prison wasn’t part of the original economic development procedures be followed exactly. 2) Argue that the planning plan, make sure officials explain why it is now being pro- and zoning laws are meant to ensure a prosperous future posed as a solution. Ask if there was a development plan for everyone in your town, and that building a prison is a for the prison. contradiction of these agencies’ missions. Demand more public input into the planning process. Is the prison in the plan and is its role in economic develop- ment represented truthfully? One report, “Good Jobs First” Contact the offices and ask to see what sort of planning by Philip Matera and Mafruza Khan, showed that the majori- attempts have been made regarding the prison. Ask to ty of private prisons built received public subsidies and review the city planning documents and examine how the development incentives from local, state and federal fund prison fits into other guidelines for land use and resource ing sources without public oversight or involvement. It is allocation. Contacting the planning and zoning offices may these kinds of financial deals that make your town bear the also reveal some of the associated costs of the prison that costs of a project you may never have even wanted. fall on the city’s shoulders. This information will help you show that the prison-boosters are hiding the real costs of the prison. OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS TO USE There are several other environmental laws that provide similar opportunities for intervention. Look at some of the listed laws to see if the proposed prison is likely to violate any of the laws and regulations covered by each agency.

Federal Clean Water Act This sets limits for dumping of pollutants, and makes it illegal to violate pollution control programs. It also sets water quality standards for surface waters. Under the act, an EPA permit is needed either if there is direct run off from a building (such as a pipe that empties into a body of water) or if dumping flows into city sewage systems. These permits are usually obtained through the state.

Agency responsible for implementation Federal Court, Environmental Protection Agency, Regional Air Quality Management District, Regional Water Quality Management District, Regional Transportation District.

Federal Clean Air Act This act has set national guidelines to reduce toxic emissions, urban air pollution and acid rain. It creates a permit system, issued by the states and overseen by the EPA, which requires people and agencies to follow emission limits and reduction plans. It also allows the EPA to penalize people and agencies that fail to reduce their emissions, mostly through fines and economic sanctions.

Agency responsible for implementation Federal Court; Environmental Protection Agency; Regional Air Quality Management District; Regional Water Quality Management District; Regional Transportation District.

State environmental laws State-level (as opposed to federal) environmental protection acts such as the California Environmental Quality Act. In addition to federal laws, most states have their own environmental protection acts. The rules vary in each state. In general, these acts require that projects meet certain standards for protecting air, water, and natural, cultural, and historical sites They also require everyone who proposes a project to list a “no-project alternative” which means stating TRUTHFULLY what would happen if the project were not built. Under the law, ordinary folks can demand public hearings on the project, and submit written and oral comments. If not satisfied with the outcome of these interventions, community groups can file suit in courts to stop projects that fail to follow the law.

Agency responsible for implementation State courts; Regional Air Quality Management District; regional Water Quality Management District; regional Transportation District.

Strategic Allies If you can get their support, local environmental organizations can be a big help. They can act as “experts,” and add their presence and voices. You can also identify which of the agencies that have a stake in the EPA’s evaluation might be an ally. Local air quality boards, for example, can use their influence during public hearings and lawsuits. Be willing to fig- ure out how the prison will be bad for all districts—like air quality, water quality, transportation and any other board or district with power over the proposed prison site. Often the “no project alternative” is given little attention, even though it is obviously the best environmental option….but don’t let decision makers get away with that. R E C A P Remember, your organization will not be fighting a fair fight: your opposition Finally: challenge the other side’s claims will have more resources, capacity, and and counter-claims. Communities can time, while many members of anti- be divided in many ways. Don’t be prison groups like yours are people who fooled by the “divide and conquer” have many other responsibilities, like strategy where prison supporters hope jobs and families. But you will need to get everyone in town bickering with such an organization to fight back the each other while they quietly go about prison because that’s what the other their business of pushing the paper- side is, first and foremost: organized. work through while no one is looking. Even without time and money on your Your town is everybody’s home, as the side, you shouldn’t hesitate to take up Farmersville story indicates. Save your the struggle. Why? Because we’ve seen real battles for when you have to fight folks come out winning, again and directly. .We guarantee that it will be again. more difficult to win your struggle if the other side can accuse you of things like: not wanting jobs for poor folks in your town, or wanting to keep finan- cially troubled farmers from selling their land and getting out of debt, or not wanting local mom and pop shops to succeed.

You can best fight a prison by figuring out what prison supporters are likely to claim. Figure out what tactics they’re likely to use to divide people in your town, and before that happens, work to bring people in your town together in common cause. You can fight prison backers by refuting their claims first, and then moving on to build a coali- tion with your potential allies. If you do so, that coalition will become an organization. CONCLUSION What we’d like to leave you with are the four points that we began with:

Lots of different people don’t want a prison in their town and 1 are willing to fight to keep one out.

You can influence the important decisions that will affect your 2 life. A small number of ordinary people have a tremendous amount of power when they work together to organize themselves. What you do, or don’t do, makes a difference. 3 It’s never too late.

If you oppose a prison in your town, you’re not alone.El Centro 4 Speech

This isn’t really an end. It isn’t a place And of course, what would a conclu- for us to leave you, since we’re only a sion be without something new to leave quick phone call or email away. This is you with? To our list of four main just where we stop talking and you start ideas, we’d like to add one final truth: organizing. We hope that after reading there’s absolutely nothing that we’ve all of the stories, advice, and ideas that talked about in this handbook that we have shared, you’ll agree with us you don’t already have the skills to that a prison isn’t the best (or even a accomplish. If you’ve ever made it good) thing for your town. We hope through a year of school with a bad that the idea of stopping a prison from teacher, given birth to a child, or dealt going up in your town won’t seem so with a Health Maintenance impossible. And we hope that you feel Organization, you’ll be fine. Nothing in a little more comfortable about doing this handbook requires you to be an it. But even if you don’t, take our word expert or a professional, or to have a for it: all the things we’ve said about college degree or lots of money on your your abilities are true! You don’t have to side. All you’ll need is the patience, pas- become a different person to stop sion, and the good sense that you were prison boosters. You just have to organ- born with — though a sense of humor ize and do it patiently. also wouldn’t hurt. And as we keep say- ing, if you run into trouble, contact us. We’d love to hear from you and to help out in any way we can APPENDIX: Public speaking in your town This speech was delivered in various forms throughout Imperial County when residents of El Centro fought off a a prison in their town (see Introduction). Many different people used it for many different audiences. Hopefully it will give you some ideas on how to write a speech to deliver your town. So, it seems that we meet the needs of enue. Social Services agencies are say- thought it was important to change the the State once again, a place to put ing: We never realized that we would image of who we are. I believe that another portion of societies ills. The be facing the sorts of social problems here lies the problem. We have no eco- question remains, does this fit OUR brought on by the correctional officers nomic plan to follow, we have not needs? that we have, the rise in spousal abuse identified our needs, other than "we and child abuse is more than the coun- need jobs". When I was on the PIC council 10 - ty staff can handle. Our County social 13 years ago, the decision was made to We need to identify our resources and accept the prisons, and I remember the services lost 10 employees to the pris- plan accordingly and realistically. director being very happy telling us ons and qualified help is hard to find. There have been no serious studies con- that "from now on folks, we are on easy Many of those positions are still not ducted on the local economic and street. We can just sit back and watch filled. The courts did not forsee the social effects of the two prisons in our it all fall in, Walmarts, others State tremendous load caused by crimes community. Institutions, they'll all come and we, committed by those "visiting" the pris- the economic developers, don't have to oners, or the prisoners writs. Jobs are important, but it takes a lot do a thing." more than jobs to sustain a community. We were told at those community It takes business. State institutions That's exactly what has happened. informational meetings for the prisons such as our prisons, and a rehabilitation Little did we know at that point that that the only effect seen on the com- facility for violent sexual predators are what would "fall into our laps"(ten munity would be an increase in proper- closed businesses. This means that they years later) would be a facility for the ty values, more sales revenue, that this do not contribute financially to the rehabilitation of the violent sexual is a clean industry, much like the mili- community through taxes or by sup- predator, and that the "big boxes" tary, and it would solve our employ- porting the economy by producng (mega-businesses whose profits leave ment problems with good paying year goods or by even purchasing from the the area) would put many of our local round jobs. It hasn't happened. local community. As State Institutions, businesses out of business, and stress they pay no property tax and or busi- the ones remaining to the point of In 1987, the trend in economic devel- ness tax. This type of facility drains the thinking that the same type of institu- opment was to go anyway that wasn't community in the long run because the tion, this one a state hospital for the agriculturally related. Our economic vast majority of employees will come sexual predator, would be the solution woes were blamed on the farmer and from the outside, creating a stress on to our problems. the agricultural industry. Please under- our already stressed infrastructure. By stand that we do need to diversify, as infrastructure I am referring to schools, Our unemployed in 1989 are the same many in agriculture have been forced public services, transportation and ones unemployed today, we remain at to, but also understand that we need roads, medical services, water and 22%. The same local businesses are still "compatible" diversity. Professionals sewer, etc. Some people have said - crying that we need more sales tax rev- working at the PIC office in those days "oh, that's ridiculous, when you build a house, costs are included to cover those expenese: Not true, in fact, hous- make for a well-balanced community few well paying position already in ing is a net drain on the municipal emotionally, and the effect of the pay place. So, one new position brings two community. The cost of housing infrastructure on social services and people, and creates one more unem- expansion needs to be subsidized by medical facilities is stresssful. ployed person. We have to remember business development. In fact, our that for everyone who does move here, local business are threatened by this In this case, some of the big questions there is often a spouse and children type of facility because large influxes of are who will be the employed, at what who will enter the work force, become people encourage the location of mega- pay level, and from where will they part of the community whose needs business, which the local business can't come? We know that Seeley is a pre- must then be met. compete with, and puts them at risk, or ferred choice because of the freeway. out of business. We must keep in mind Drawing professionals from San Diego For the 20% of entry level positions, that our local business give 60 cents to and Los Angeles will be a necessity. approximately 300 jobs, in support each dollar back to the community, Not only do we not have professionals services, kitchen, janitor, gardener, will while the large megabusiness, which are to fill the positions, but with our they make enough to buy a home in not locally owned, only give six cents of severe nursing shortage in our local the community, or will they have to each dollar back to the local economy. medical fields we can't afford to lose live like the Border Patrol and share This is what is referred to as the "stran- anyone. bunks? Will they earn enough to make gling effect" of the state institutions on a difference and pay for the social serv- the local community, not to mention ices they require? loss of local identity and opportunity. Our hospitals are dangerously under- staffed, San Diego complains of the same shortage. How will we keep our There are many concerns with a project hospitals and medical services afloat if such as this, and one is the lack of we if we experience this drain from I have reported that when our prisons strategic design for our growth, and Southern California to the State Facility that by continuing in the direction of were opened 20% of workforce were for The Sexual Predator? How many hired locally. This figure came from prisons and rehabilitation centers , we professionals will be coming from the will attract more of the same. And if we State sources. At one of the meetings temporary designated treatment center someone glared at me and reported that want to go in the direction of more in Atascadero if fill these positions? guards and criminals, predators and 63% of the prison employees reside therapy centers, we are headed in the locally. So, I have to question, if now, right direction. It's clear that the professional position 10 years later, 63 % of all employees will be the higher paid, we have many are local residents, will we ever get the highly paid individuals working here positions promised us in the first place? Some people feel that because we are a and commuting to San Diego where and with all those people who trans- border community to begin with, we their families live. Many times this is fered in from other state institutions, or already have an over abundance of law because the spouse is equally educated moved in from the outside, did our enforcement in the commuity. We have and unwilling to leave his or her secure local people even get 20% of the posi- the INS, DEA, BP, Customs, FBI, carreer, and the children are in a pre- tions offered at that time? Immigration, the list doesn't end, and ferred school setting. This drain does one of the issues discussed in the not help our situation any. The flip Border Communities Association is At the public hearing for the draft EIR, side is what is called the 2 x 1 theory. there were several young men in atten- that the local community really can't Educated professional moves in for the support an imbalance of this sort. Too dance who testified as to how wonder- position and brings educated spouse. ful the State jobs are, never addressing many law enforcement employees don't Spouse displaces local person in one of the draft EIR or the possible effects this Soledad, Tehachipi and Atascadero. might possibly relocate to their area. proposal will have on our community. They are all rural agricultural based- Even a representative from the City When I talked to them they told me communities, each with two prisons. I Managers office in Coalinga said "we they worked for the Prison, and want contacted most of these communities haven't recovered from the economic to transfer to the state rehabilitation to find out why they rejected the pro- blow from the prisons, we can't afford center for the sexual predator. "Hey" posal, what were their concerns? I was this project". they said, it beats working at the surprised that safety was not an issue, prison, and we get first priority, we in fact, it seems that no one I spoke This law is new, and is currently being work for the State." So, they claim that with even considered reading the State challenged at the Supreme Court in someone already the State system wil law which defined the role of this Washington DC. The people placed in take priority over the local unem- rehabilitation center for sexual preda- this program have already completed ployed. So again, the people who move tors and the patients rights. Their con- their criminal prison sentence, and this in become part of the need. cern was largely economics and image. is a civil commitment, designed to keep They mostly said that they could not the state safer and provide rehabilita- Another concern is that "like draws afford to "take another hit" from the tion for the sexual predator. The law is like". The State representatives tell us State, economically. They com- being challenged because a patient that these psychiatric hospital patients plainedthat their local people didn't get believes his rights are being violated will have "no camp followers" as they the prison jobs as promised, the 80% because he is being held, but not are primarily outcasts and have been of people who moved in over crowded receiving the proper treatment to cure abandoned by their families in the first the local schools, and their communi- him. So, depending on the outcome of place. Reality shows us that there are ties went into debt trying to build the the legal decison, there may be some many others, just as twisted, who are necessary infrastructure. Also, they major changes in what will actually be aroused by perversity, and want to complained that in many cases the placed in this community. State didn't honor their promises regarding mitigation funds. Del Norte A question was posed at our Board of breathe the same air as they -- and that County went from a budget surplus of Supervisors meeting two weeks ago they will come. Actually, this is the over one million to a debt of 2 million, regarding the California State law sec- first response I hear from the general building the basic infrastructure tion 6608, which defines outpatient public. The "patient" in this facility required. Tehachipi claims that 781 services for ths particular program per- will not be rotated, so friends, family, local businesses went out of business in taining to the rehabilitation and rights visitors have reason to stay and live in the first ten years after the first prison of the Violent Sexual Predator. These the community. According to the liter- was built, due to the arival of mega- patients will be placed in a two year ature put out by the Mental Health business which follow prison growth. civil commitment for their treatment, department, an important component They also reported that the state does with an evaluation every year, and the to the therapy is counseling for couples not mitigate for all the local school patient has the right to request and and families. How would this be costs, leaving the district with a 25 receive outpatient trreatment once the accomplished without the presence of million dollar debt which it still strug- two year program is completed and family or significant others? gles with today, a decade later. Also of he/she has been deemed safe to place in concern, was the fact that they would the community, under supervision. The proposal to place the State be home to the largest concentration of The law states that the individual will Psychiatric Hospital for the Violent violent sexual predators in the entire be placed where the appropriate treat- Sexual Predator has been rejected by six world, causing a negative image, and ment and supervision is available. The communities in California. They are discouraging the relocation of positive question is: What would prevent one Cresent City, Corcoran, Susanville, tax revenue producing businesses who from argueing that the most appropri- ate treatment would be found where sonal employees. Like draws like. For the one state hospital specifically some reason the county government designed and appointed by law for the refuse to accept that there is life south treatment and rehabilitation of the vio- of El Centro. There is a tremendous lent sexual predator is located? The economic push coming from south of question was then asked by a reporter the border and it is being ignored. We to the State representative, who need to plan accordingly. We don't replied, according to the newspaper: need to accept whatever the statethrows "They are wrong, I can assure the pro- our way just because no one else wants ple of the Imperial Valley that no one it. This project needs to be placed in a will be placed in that community on large metropolitan area that can absorb an outpatient status. They are returned the costs, but Los Angeles refuses this to their county of commitment." project. Court records show that we have per- sons who were found quilty of murder As our water supply becomes evenmore by reason of insanity by our local court, precious we must become vigilant (one was a correctional officer) and are in who uses it. Although the proposed now released to the community of the facility is predicted to use over 210 gal- hospital treating them on an outpatient lons of water per patient per day,- not basis. They are not released here, much in comparrison to farming - we which is the county of commitment, must remember that in Avenal, because we have no services of this Coalinga, Delano, Porterville, Lindsay, nature. In fact, when one is convicted Farmersville and Tehachipi, farmers and of a violent crime, especially of the sex- other businesses had to go to court over ual nature, very often the community water issues because once in place, does not accept them back. They have State Institutions cannot be controlled to go where they are not recognized. with regard to how much water they use, or how they use it. The water My point is that promises and policies wars have yet to begin. can fly with the political winds. There is nothing in the law which protects our comunity from having the "cured" sexual predator placed here on an out- patient status, or even unconditionally released and discharged.

The big problem that we are facing as a community is that we don't have a plan of development, we are in denial of who we are, we are ignoring the fact that we remain an agricultural based, border community with the same chal- lenges associated with that. As long as there is agriculture, there wil lbe sea- APPENDIX: Resources Beginning your campaign will involve lots of different folks. Here are some ways to find support along the way.

O R G A N I Z AT I O N S Critical Resistance These are groups that are currently active around social justice Started as a conference to bring together people who were issues. They might have some advice, or be able to offer sup- affected by prisons or who do prison-related activism, CR is port, and/or lead you to it elsewhere. now a national organization based in Oakland.

American Friends Service Committee-National Phone: (510) 444-0484

Criminal Justice Program Website: www.criticalresistance.org Based in Philadelphia, this group works in many locations on e-mail: [email protected] issues of criminal justice. Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition Phone: (215) 241-7130 A statewide coalition that has worked in the past on legisla-

Website: www.afsc.org tion to enact a prison-building moratorium in the state. e-mail: [email protected] Phone: (888)298-8059

Arizona Prison Moratorium Coalition Website: www.ccjrc.org Based in Tucson. This coalition has focused on the effects of e-mail: [email protected] prisons in immigrant communities in the cities and on the US/Mexico border. New York Prison Moratorium Project (NYPMP)

Phone: (520) 623-9141 A youth-focused organization. They were instrumental in suc- Website: www.borderaction.org cessfully stopping the building of a new state prison in e-mail: [email protected] upstate New York. Through their work, they have developed ties between urban and rural activists. California Prison Moratorium Project (CAPMP) This is the group that put this handbook together. We are Phone: (718) 260-8805 based in Oakland and Fresno California, but we have cam- Website: www.nomoreprisons.org paigns thoughout the state. e-mail: [email protected]

Phone: (510) 595-4674 Western Prisons Project Website: www.prisonactivist.org/pmp e-mail: [email protected] Based in Portland, Oregon, this group supports prison activism in OR, WA, ID, MT, UT, NV, and WY. Central California Environmental Justice Network (CCEJN) Phone: (503) 335-8449 A network made up of member organizations from through- Website: www.westernprisonproject.org out California’s Central Valley. The groups involved work on e-mail: [email protected] many different environmental justice issues, and support each others’ campaigns. California PMP is a member.

Phone: (661) 720-9140 e-mail: [email protected] R E S E A R C H / DATA Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ) Sentencing Project Focuses on research related to youth in the prison system. Publishes studies and books about the effects of imprison- ment on society. Phone: (415) 621-5661

Website: www.cjcj.org Phone: (202) 628-0871

Website: www.sentencingproject.org Data Center Has researchers on staff who focus on many issues. They are available to fill requests for specific information. Have com- B O O K S piled a large list of current prison-related work. The following books provide good background information and examples of organizing: Phone: (510) 835-4692 Website: www.datacenter.org e-mail: [email protected] Kim Bobo, Jackie Kendal, and Steve Max, Organizing for Social Change: Manual for Activists (Seven Locks Press, 1991). Justice Policy Institute (JPI) We utilized this in the Organizing chapter. Very useful exam- An independent, Washington D.C.-based research institute. It ples for any kind of justice work. has released many studies used by activists to debunk the myths of the benefits of incarceration. Luke Cole (editor), From the Ground Up: Environmental Racism and the Rise of the Environmental Justice Movement. Phone: (202) 363-7847 (NYU Press 2000). Essays from everyday people involved in Website: www.justicepolicy.org community-based organizing. Edited by the director of the e-mail: [email protected] Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, a member of CCEJN. Prison Activist Resource Center A clearinghouse of information for prison-related issues. It Angela Davis. Are Prisons Obsolete? (Seven Stories Press, creates a guide that lists organizations from across the 2003). Angela Davis makes the case for the end of prisons country. and “decarceration.” Phone: (510) 893-4648 Marilyn Manilov, Media How-to Guidebook (Media Alliance Website: www.prisonactivist.org e-mail: [email protected] 1999). A short, general guide to getting your message out.

Prison Reform Advocacy Center Phil Mattera and Mafruza Khan, with Greg LeRoy and Kate Provides legal support and data to activists throughout the Davis, Jail Breaks: Economic Development Subsidies Given to country. Also performs campaign work around prisoners and Private Prisons (Good Jobs First, 2001). Focuses on private the census. prisons. Good information for building a case against prison

expansion. More information at www.goodjobsfirst.org. Phone: (513) 421-1108

Website: www.prisonreform.com e-mail: [email protected] Marc Mauer and Medea Chesney-Lind (editors), Invisible Rural/Agriculture: Punishment: The Collateral Consequences of Mass Imprisonment (The New Press, 2002). Essays about the effects prisons have “The Last Farm Crisis” by William Grieder. The Nation on society. 11/20/00.

Marilyn McShane and Frank Williams, Encyclopedia of “Valley Counties Losing Farmland” by Dennis Pollock. Fresno American Prisons (Gailand Publishing, 1996). A straightfor- Bee 3/16/00. ward A-Z guide to the history, terminology and processes of the U.S. prison system. Prison Siting

st “BOP Provides Blueprint for Siting New Facilities” by David Christian Parenti, Lockdown America (Verso, 1999). A 20-21 Dorworth. Corrections Today April 1996. century history of how Americans came to believe that polic- ing and prisons are the only solutions to social problems. “Site Selection and Construction of Prisons” by Don Josi. In Marilyn D. McShane and Frank P. Williams, editors, Elihu Rosenblatt (editor), Criminal Injustice (South End Encylopedia of American Prisons (Gailand Publishing, 1996). Press, 1996). Short pieces on individuals’ experiences with the criminal justice system. Prison Towns A R T I C L E S “Economic Lockdown: With Unemployment Largely Unaffected and Jobs Going to Residents of Larger Cities, the These are grouped by category. Please contact CAPMP to Valley’s Prison Boom Hasn’t Been the Economic Boon request free copies. Advertised” by Mike Lewis. The Fresno Bee 1/9/00.

Globalization: “Portrait of a Prison Town” by Jennifer Gonnerman. The “Globalization and U.S. Prison Growth” by Ruth Wilson Village Voice 3/11/97. Gilmore. Race and Class 40(2/3): 171-188, 1998. V I D E O S Delano: Can be used for public forums and fundraisers, house parties, “The Prison Prosperity Myth: Delano’s Grand Illusion” by and available to loan to the public. Matthew Heller. Los Angeles Times Magazine 9/1/02. Concrete and Sunshine by Nicole Cousino. Film about the “So Far, Prisons Manage to Duck the Budget Ax” Bee Capitol history of California’s prison system and the development of Bureau. Fresno Bee 12/15/02. the Security Housing Unit (SHU). Available by contacting the filmmaker at [email protected]. “Storm Raised by Plan for California Prison: Need and Economic Benefit Questioned” by Evelyn Nieves. The New Joining Forces:Footage from the 2001 Conference that York Times 8/27/00. brought together groups working for environmental justice and groups fighting against prison expansion. Includes partic- ipants’ personal testimonial and speeches by experts in both “No Need for Jail, Lawsuit Claims” by Davin McHenry. areas. Available through Critical Resistance, (510) 444-0484. Bakersfield Californian 7/11/00. Prison in the Fields by Ashley Hunt. A short film about R E F E R E N C E S Delano and the siting of a second prison in this historic 1 Rainey, James. “Prison Population Drops for the First Time in Years.” Los Angeles Times, union town. Available by calling Critical Resistance, (510) Tuesday, July 4, 2000 444-0484. 2 “New York State of Mind?: Higher Education vs. Prison Funding in the Empire State, 1988-1998.” Available online at http://www.cjcj.org.

This Black Soil by Teresa Konechne. The story of a rural 3 Hooks, Greg, et al. 2004. The Prison Industry: Carceral Expansion and Employment in community fighting to stop a prison siting in their town. U.S. Counties, 1969-1994. Social Science Quarterly, (85:1): 37-57. For other studies, see: http://www.vcu.edu/uns/Releases/2001/feb/020501a.html. Besser, Terry L. & Margaret M. Hanson. 2003. The Development of Last Resort:The Impact of New State Prisons on Small Town Economies. Presented at the Rural Sociological Society Meeting in August 2003 at: http://www.realcostofprisons.org/other.html; King, Ryan S., Marc Yes, In My Backyard by Tracy Huling. The filmmaker inter- Mauer & Tracy Huling. 2003. Big Prisons, Small Towns: Prison Economics in Rural America. Washington DC, The Sentencing Project at: views residents of a small upstate New York town with two http://www.sentencingproject.org/pubs_06.cfm state prisons. Email the filmmaker at [email protected].

W E B S I T E S

Includes those that have not been included in other areas of the resource guide.

(Dis)location and the Ruralization of US Prisons: http://www.sfsu.edu/˜tamamail/location.html.

Federal freedom of information act requests: http://www.rcfp.org/foi_lett.html

Research on the Prison Industrial Complex: http://www.prisonsucks.com

Search for your state’s Department of Corrections online

Schools Not Jails: www.schoolsnotjails.co

State open records requests: http://www.splc.org/foiletter.asp

Statistics on state and federal prison systems: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/correct.htm