Science is very effective, and it has transformed our lives when it has been used. Unfortunately we don't often use science, because we don't really want to change. Science is a process of change. Further it has requirements that might be embarrassing to some. Science doesn't hide facts, it uncovers them. Further science has exact language that has a basis in math, it counts, keeps track, and is transparently available to all those interested in science. Using science facts get exposed and widely shared.
The door to better prisons is Science: To apply science to our prison system we need some tools. If we want to apply science to insects, we would need a microscope. The microscope would not distort what it looks at it would only make it more visiable and allow more people to view insects. The same is true for the scientific tools needed for the study of prisons. The tools available in 2019 are very primative, don't fit on our cell phones and don't serve us well. We need new tools, and these tools need to be free to all. Poor people can be good scientists if they have the right tools.
Consider the following Tools which might be created to help us use science to improve our prisons. 1. A software data base holding prison location, how many people incarcerated, how much money is spent on food, medicine, and education. 2. A software data base holding the specific rules needed to visit a prisoner at a specific prison. 3. A software data base designed to help people car pool to a prison to visit a prisoner. 4. Software designed to help people in prison communicate with their loved ones.