A report from the New York Post has revealed that apparently over $59,260USD in taxpayer dollars is afforded to purchasing PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 games to incentivise inmates to do the right thing.
Latima Johnson, a Press Officer at NYC Department of Correction described that the amount is used as part of the Adult Programs Division – using the money to purchase 1,247 games, which includes dozens of copies of titles like Mortal Kombat 1 and Street Fighter 6. There is also mention that they purchase serialised sports titles, like the most recent Madden and NBA2k24, but I assume they are used to punish misbehaving prisoners exclusively.
Statements from a longtime correction officer mentioned the obvious – that access to the consoles are absolutely to “cut down on fighting and rule-breaking in the clink”, particularly when younger inmates are involved. Used as a carrot to keep things civil, a week of good behaviour could net you some time on the PlayStation to work out some frustration or settle a dispute in the digital realm.
Of course, people discovering this system are upset at the amount of money being spent – but also the clear case that people in the corrections system are “playing games” when their time spent behind bars would be better suited to suffering, apparently.
Celestino Monclova, a former Rikers correction officer, asserted that inmates’ access to video games and other special privileges as contributing to the post-pandemic spike in crime across New York City.
If anything, we’re teaching them to feel like more of a privileged criminal. The people getting released … they’re exhibiting the same [problematic] behavior they were thriving in jail with.
It’s a hard situation to properly assess, especially given that the majority of perspectives offered are personal views, rather than data driven analysis. A cursory bit of research on my part seems to indicate that the rate of violent crime across New York City is declining, at least according to the reports of the NYPD – but that isn’t indicative of people landing sweet fatalities in Mortal Kombat 1 and rehabilitating themselves.
A better argument would at least be from Benny Boscio, head of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, who does make the observation that the amount of money spent on entertainment becomes a little more troubling when you take into account the lack of some essential needs – such as proper air conditioning during a recent heat wave.
So perhaps the truth is somewhere in the middle, that perhaps that might be a lot of money spent on games across the jails of NYC, but it doesn’t need to be eliminated entirely.
I just know that if I am going to get into a prison fight, I’d rather do it virtually as Kung Lao than as myself.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments or on social media.
