Prison labour is a feature of penal systems almost everywhere around the world and many private companies profit from it. But whose benefit is the work really for? Does it help the prisoners? Or is it just a way of reducing the huge costs that tax-payers pay each year to keep people behind bars? Join Ed Butler to hear from former prisoners and experts on prison work to find out more about the true cost of penal labour.

Contributors:
Chandra Bozelko, former prison inmate, writer and thought leader on issues related to criminal justice reform

Nila Bala, criminal justice policy expert at R street, a nonprofit, public policy research organization promoting free markets and limited government

Dr Jenna Pandeli, Senior Lecturer in Organisation Studies, University of the West of England

Lester Young, formerly incarcerated for a life sentence, now South Carolina organiser with JustLeadership USA, a campaign group aiming to cut the US correctional population in half by 2030.

The governor and prisoners at Erlestoke Prison in Wiltshire, UK. Credit: Farming Today, BBC. Producer: Rebecca Rooney

Picture: Prisoners at Oak Glen Conservation Camp leave the minimum security prison for work deployment under the authority of Cal Fire. September 2017 near Yucaipa, California. (Credit: DAVID MCNEW/AFP/Getty Images)) Show less