Calvo was unsure exactly when Scripps started buying from CI because he claimed he did not have access to records from before then, and refused media requests to see available receipts and invoices. "There has been a historic pattern of (colleges) purchasing from companies like CI," confirmed Dean Calvo, vice president for business affairs and treasurer at Scripps. Scripps' relationship with CI dates back to at least 2008. "But I had never seen the sticker," she said.Īccording to Binti Harvey, vice president for marketing and communications at Scripps, the college purchased bed frames, dressers, bookcases and chairs from CI for use only in student rooms. "I don't want to sleep on this bed," bemoaned 18-year-old Sara Gonzalez-Bautista, who admitted to knowing that the college previously bought prison furniture. So it was with surprise that a student at Scripps College looked at her bed frame and saw a bright yellow sticker that read "Washington State Correctional Industries." The Times also reported that CI often takes "jobs from private businesses that can't compete with cheap prison labor." Claims regarding decreased recidivism and improved job preparedness for the CI prisoner-employees were under-substantiated, the newspaper reported.ĬI "capitalizes off a built-in monopoly," The Times argues, noting that Washington state law mandates that state agencies as well as public universities buy furniture from CI.
In addition, furniture sold to state agencies, who are required in many instances to purchase from CI, were sold at "exorbitant markups" in order to make up for huge losses elsewhere. However, the program, which employs about 1,600 state prisoners, Was found to be "a broken program" which cost the taxpayers millions of dollars, according to a December 2014 investigation by The Seattle Times.Īmong the findings by The Seattle Times was that prison-manufactured goods, which includes furniture such as desks, chairs, dressers, and bed frames, were sold to otherwise unwitting or unwilling consumers. Washington State Correctional Industries (CI) ranks as the fourth largest prison labor program in the United States, with revenues north of $70 million in fiscal year 2014. Share: Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on G+ Share with email
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