prison industrial complex

or pris·on-in·dus·tri·al com·plex

[ priz-uhn in-duhs-tree-uhl kom-pleks ]

noun

1. the network of government agencies and private industry that foster, benefit from, and contribute to mass incarceration, the imprisonment of large numbers of people:

   The cheapness of prison labor is just one way that the prison industrial complex is used for profit.

Word History and Origins

Origin of prison industrial complex¹

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

And she described herself as an “abolitionist” — someone who favors the “abolition of police and the prison industrial complex.”

From Los Angeles Times

Jurado identified herself as an abolitionist — someone who supports the “abolition of police and the “prison industrial complex” — in a questionnaire she submitted to the Democratic Socialists of America-Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times

“We need the same investment that go into law enforcement and the prison industrial complex. We don’t have real investment into this work.”

From Seattle Times

He’s also said he believes in “shrinking the prison industrial complex.”

From Seattle Times

String all of this together and we have a cash cow riding an ouroboros of systemic failures, circling between the prison industrial complex and the easily exploitable through various flavors of apprehension related to the police.

From Salon