WHEN WE think of prisoner labor we generally might imagine inmates picking up highway trash or manufacturing license plates. A less well-known fact is that inmates also assist the public in times of disaster by serving as emergency responders. The experiences of inmates remain isolated from the general public, so its no wonder that few people know about the role of inmate labor in disasters, or the possible impacts such services may have on incarcerated populations or the general public. In response to this gap in understanding of this practice, I dedicated my masters thesis research to the role of inmate labor involved with emergency management plans across states in the United States.
