Pubdate: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 Source: Tallahassee Democrat (FL) Copyright: 2003 Tallahassee Democrat. Contact: http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/444 Author: Ken Kopczynski Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1361/a08.html Cited: Florida Police Benevolent Association http://www.flpba.org Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration) LETTER ON PRISONS FAILED TO TELL THE WHOLE STORY I find it rather disingenuous for Andrew T. Lefevre ("Attack on prisons was unfounded," Letters, Sept. 10) to chastise Robert Batey ("There's a prison industrial complex at work in Florida," Letters, Aug. 21) for warning about the prison industrial complex, seeing how Lafevre's association, the Association of Private Correctional and Treatment Organizations, represents corporations that profit from the incarceration of human beings. While Lefevre argues that Florida's inmate per diem costs have dropped in 2002 compared to 1997, he fails to mention that the Florida Department of Corrections total budget has increased from $1.5 billion to $4.3 billion over the same period. Before Lefevre objects to my observations, it should be noted that I work for the Florida Police Benevolent Association, which represents state correctional and correctional probation officers. And while our members have a direct interest in the incarceration of criminals, they do so with a sense of public duty and not private profit. KEN KOPCZYNSKI Florida Police Benevolent Association --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake