Chapter 13
Covering Prisons and Jails: Story Ideas
By Jenifer Warren

1. Basic feature story on a state prison and/or county jail in your area,
   covering living conditions, crowding, rehab opportunities, generally what life
   is like.
2. Staffing of correctional facilities-background of wardens, working conditions
   of guards, security issues (e.g., smuggled-in cell phones, drugs, etc.).
   • You can learn about failings by reading state personnel board actions against officers and others who work in the prisons.
   • Take the time to read and understand the correction officers’ union contract. There may be obscure rules on work assignments, seniority, and the like that raise questions and lead to good stories. In some states the union exerts so much power they are a de facto manager of the prisons.
   • Who is the highest paid guard in the system? Was it due to overtime? Why?
   • What about sick leave? You would be surprised by the abuse of this element of the officer contract.
3. Prison budgets. Prisons are a function of state government. States compile all sorts of records. You can, for example, discover the amount the state pay for the milkshake makers in the commissaries, and how much the state spends to get the electrified fences to work properly. Your audience might be surprised at where the money goes.
4. How does spending on corrections facilities in your area stack up compared with other jurisdictions, e.g., on food, medical costs. The numbers can differ markedly-why is that?
5. Take a detailed look at inmate composition of a state or county corrections facility (depending on security level), attempting to assess whether most people incarcerated are considered dangerous, how many may be in for simple drug possession/low level drug dealing,, how many have mental problems, are they getting treatment, etc.
6. Lockdowns have become a management tool for many overloaded correctional systems. What do the figures show in your state's system? What are the consequences of a 23-hour lockdown? One thing it often means is more overtime for guards, who have to deliver meals to cells etc. How do prison wardens manage potential hostilities when lockdowns are ended? What triggers a lockdown? What does research show about the need for and effectiveness of lockdowns? How many inmates generally are confined to their cells 23 hours a day; for how long? What is life like for them (NPR found that some Louisiana inmates had been locked down for many years on suspicion of murder).
7. Who oversees corrections facilities in your state/locality? Outside visiting boards, legislators, ACLU, private prison groups (including CURE, representing inmate families), or no one? To whom do they report? Do they have any impact on problems? In many states, the Inspector General is a watchdog of prisons, and a great source of reports on problems in the system.
   
8. Are there any privately run facilities in your jurisdiction? If so, how do they compare to public facilities in all respects, such as violence, staffing, officer pay, recidivism?
9. Ask the same kinds of questions about federal facilities, including those for suspected illegal immigrants.
10. Women in prison. Does your state have separate policies for women inmates? If not, why not? Female inmates have different problems, different needs, and respond differently to drug treatment and other rehabilitation programs. What about pat searches by male guards and other privacy issues? What is the level of officer-on-inmate assaults in the female prisons? What happens with pregnant inmates and how is the separation of mother from infant handled?
11. Longer sentences have made prison health care a major issue in some states. What is the cost of housing older inmates, who tend to have more illnesses? What is their quality of treatment?
12. Politics
    • Track politicians’ votes on legislation affecting the prison system, including bills that lengthen prison sentences. Who is giving them money? The officers' union? Prison-building companies?
    • Follow state Capitol lobbying efforts by the union and prison contractors, including private prison operators, prison builders, and others with a stake in the system.
    • Are rural areas seeking prison construction for economic reasons? What is the track record of prisons in other states where this has happened?