Arkansas Friends and Families of Incarcerated Persons and Society is a collective of citizens devoted to bringing about positive change to the current failed approaches being taken by our Elected Officials relating to Crime and Punishment.

We are told "The crime rate is down" - but the incarceration rate is growing. We are told, "The unemployment rate is down." - But the statistics do not include the more than 2 million U.S. citizens currently incarcerated in the nation's prisons and jails. We are told, "Since the 1994 sweeping welfare reform recipients are down 40%." - But the U.S. incarcerates some 1,226 Americans a week and deports some 1000 "criminal" illegal aliens per week. We are told, "The economy is booming." - But 1998 set record highs for personal bankruptcies, plant closings, corporate downsizing, and over extended credit lines are driving more and more U.S. citizens to bankruptcy. Nationwide education, aid for the elderly, housing and other social programs desperately needed, collapse under the massive strain o fthe nation's failed policies.

The facts are inseperable, yet the distorted lens of corporate media shapes and forms the perceptions of reality, thus the statistical facts are cleverly hidden. We are told, "The crime rate is down." - But how is that possible if the incarceration rate is rising? Crime is down, shouldn't the incarceration rate also be down? Is unemployment down because more and more Americans are being incarcerated and not counted? And while the welfare roles have dropped - how many of the former recipients are now in jail or prison? If the economy is booming - why are the bankruptcy rates so high? Why are education levels across the nation suffering while prison construction is booming? These are legitimate questions that deserve HONEST answers.

If you are interested in bringing about an HONEST DEBATE of why our elected officials prefer spending 25,000.00 dollars a year to incarcerate our youth instead of 2,500.00 per year to educate them, join us; if you believe prisons should be structured to produce law abiding citizens, join us. If you believe care for the elderly and other more deserving programs should take precedence over building prisons and jails, join us.

For your donation, you will receive an informative A.F.F.I.P.S. report and membership information. Our hope is to grow to American Friends and Families of Incarcerated Persons and Society, and with your support we will.