I would have to agree that unfairly giving “free” labor to private businesses is not within the means of the law.

To play Devils Advocate, there are times when inmate labor is used to construct or clean up various things around the community. This sounds harmless but because they are not paid the bids for inmate labor can be significantly lower than that of regular businesses. This causes lost contracts and revenues. How is it fair to the businesses that the judicial system can provide cheap labor and out bid regular business for contracts?

By no means am I taking sides, it is just something to think about.

What I am going to take a side on is that the sentence for a convicted drug user was way too soft. Idaho has rampant drug problems and the judicial system isn’t doing anyone any favors by just slapping the wrists of teens who are going to ruin their life and the lives of those around them. The kid should have been locked up where he has no access to go back to drugs for absolutely no less than one year. It allows for a detoxification period and it also helps to break ties to the “friends” that helped to supply the drugs.

I personally have seen kids I grew up with in this same situation. All of them got slapped on the wrist and all have spent their adult lives in and out of jail and rehab. If the drug ties aren’t broken early they never will be. The most efficient way to do this is to keep them locked up long enough to get everything out of the system and long enough to see that the “friends” that helped to lead them to drugs never visit them or support them and were not their “true friends.”

EDITOR NOTE–Inmate labor is used–or should be used–strictly on public projects. Contrary to your theiry, it SAVES public money and improves the quality of life for SOCIETY…inmate crews even fight fires. They do not work in the private sector.

Boise Banker,
The USA has more locked up people per capita than any other nation in the world. Is it working?
Sounds to me like you think slave labor is OK
How about locking up the supposedly self regulatedlenders who helped ruin our economy with sub-prime risky loans causing rampant unemployment, so they can’t buddy up at the golf club trading lending secrets with their mortgage bundling friends? Would that work?

What about perverts in public bathrooms? Should Larry Craig be locked up even longer if he is found guilty again after pleading guilty?

What about politicians who start wars based on fabricated lies? What should we do with them?

Usually I agree with your articles even if we differ slightly in our attitude about growth. With this issue, however, I don’t see why this is such a problem.

I LIKE the idea of the judge allowing juvenile offenders to serve their community service with businesses. First of all, the kids get exposed to a healthier way of life and future job prospects. I doubt a few teenaged offenders are going to end up being serious competition in the labor market. Plus I project that these jobs would be considered more ‘make work’ projects rather than something a business owner would hire another person to do.

I also like that businesses are stepping forward to help the at-risk youth in our community. Kudos to the business owners who are willing to take the risk. As for liability coverage, if the kid is injured the business owner’s policy (liability, not workman’s comp) will cover whatever the child’s primary medical insurance doesn’t. I really don’t see an issue on that point.

As for the pay, it isn’t like the kids are going to get paid anyway. And once their sentence is satisfied, they will be ‘set free’.

Lastly, if my kid were to receive such a sentence, I would consider ourselves lucky if s/he could perform their community service by doing odd jobs at a local business. My kid would be kept away from a rougher ‘work program’ jail population, both juvenile and adult. For an at-risk kid, the last thing they need is exposure to others would are more than willing to teach them more about the life of crime.

EDITOR NOTe–Parent tells us there were “about seven other offenders” working at the place, that’s why he wanted to work there…to be with his buddies.

Question: If there are so many canidates for alternative sentencing, that there is a surplus, or perhaps it would be too costly for county paid employees to supervise them all…then is it acceptable to turf some to the private sector for some well earned manual labor? (the fact that it is in front of their friends at the mall is a bonus…)

Dont know if there is an actual surplus, but it isnt hard to imagine. And I bet if you had to supervise everyone of them with a county employ, deputy or otherwise, it may drive up the cost of the program beyond the judicial budgets.

No blood no foul I say…hardly slave labor. Maybe procedurely incorrect, but hardly the “slave labor” or the great conspiracy you make it out to be.
Lots of bigger fish to fry IMHO.

Go to third world countries and look at those sweet shops…thats slave labor!

If it was up to me, I would use alternative sentacing much more often. I would have them pulling janitor duty at their schools, at BSU clean up after the games, or out on the farms of Idaho doing REAL labor.

By the way, inmate labor is good for manual labor only. I have seen the use of inmate labor for more complex projects and lets say the ..uhm…quality and motivation (or lack there of) shows.

Nemo–
My friend volunteers at Life’s Kitchen, a non-profit that helps kids at risk and he was told by the juvenile probation people there were “no community service offenders available,” to help out.

Do you think the business owners have submitted to drug and background tests? Does the county even check where they place these children?

The banker’s idea of jail time for drug offenders is laughable. Our jails are so crowded and 80% are there because of drug-related charges. This is not the answer, obviously. Alternative sentencing, TREATMENT Centers and education are possible answers.

But I don’t like the idea of free work at a for-profit business. There are all kinds of non-profit groups such as the Humane Society, help for the homeless and countless other groups who are crying for volunteer help. I would like to see this subject investigated and new guidelines established as to what kind of businesses can utilize this free labor.

After my arrest, I was found guilty and sentenced to community service. The only option offered was working at the VA nursing home. They were very nice, and offered a plethora of different jobs.

It certainly sounds illegal to expect offenders to work for a private business unless the state receives some sort of renumeration for the work.

If they were convicted of damaging the business owner’s property or something involving a financial loss, I can see how this would be acceptable, to make up for it.

I think we need to hear from the judge’s side of the story before making a definitive call on the rightness or wrongness of the practice.

EDITOR NOTE–The judge may not even know where the probationers go–but he probably SHOULD know.

Adult misdemeanor probation in and of itself IS a private profit center. Guardian, don’t you recall the big fuss several years ago (mid-90’s?) about how Ada County had awarded the contract to run a privatized adult misdemeanor probation program to a former bail bondsperson, Nancy Cladis, who had been the girlfriend of Trial Court Administrator John Traylor, without a proper bidding process?

The County took a step backward, put out a Request For Proposals, and Cladis ended up with the contract anyway. To the best of my knowledge, she STILL has it. Traylor retired, moved to Arizona, then came back to run the County’s Welfare Department. He has since taken over the County’s Development Services Department. I remember the man as a capable administrator, although the jury is still out about how good a job he does running Development Services.

Adult misdemeanor probation is something the County ought to do itself. If the private sector can do it and make money, then the County (and taxpayers) ought to benefit from the revenue source, or the cost to probationers (who have to pay for the “privilege”) ought to be reduced.

Grumpy Ole Guy wrote, “County jail is used for the ‘less serious crimes’; it is not prison, thus the option of work-release / community service.” Just to clarify, that statement is true, but only to a point.

BEFORE those really bad guys (and gals) are sentenced to one of the facilities south of town, they may be held in the Ada County Jail. Some of the folks in there, being held near the Boise Towne Square Mall, have committed serious crimes. Thanks to the hard work of dedicated Sheriff’s employees, jailbreaks have been limited.

The Sheriff’s Inmate Labor Detail (SILD) and work-release program options are NOT available to everyone assigned to the Ada County Jail. Those are sentencing options available to the judges, but are not always appropriate, depending on the severity of the crime(s) committed.

Brat1 is right. Perhaps we need to look at the meaning of “community service”. What does the Ada County juvenile parole office think community service means?

Does community service mean I can get the kids over to rake my leaves, mow my grass and weed my garden? When I get done with those kids they will know something about being a home owner. They will not want to smoke pot ever again when I’m done with them. I’ll save money too because I won’t have to pay a yard service company or the smart mouth kid next door (won’t work for less than $10.00/hr) that never finishes the job, or take the risk of hiring some illegal Mexicans hangin out by Lowes looking for quick work.

And if the community service kids don’t show up for work I’ll call the cops and bust em again. Hey I’m part of the community and I want my free service. Where do I sign up?

Nemo, what part of not available to everybody don’t you understand?

I understand the concern of the Guardian and others however, coming from a background in juvenile corrections, I feel that we cannot dismiss the potential value of the real world vocational experience that these kids get at no cost to the taxpayers.

Learning to work and the responsibility that comes with answereing to an employer, often a new kind of authority figure for a kid and one that he will most likely be dealing with for the rest of his life, can be an invaluable experience for any young person. Lets look at the big picture here.

The REAL problem with juvenile corrections in this state is the “Good Ol’ Boy” system of management and promotions and the cronyism. The Counties (Both Ada and Canyon), in my opinion, do a much better job at serving our misguided youth than the State does.