Not Your Average Cruise

A story about the notoriously corrupt Haitian police force actually performing its duties in the earthquake's aftermath also points out that the disaster will have long term consequences for public safety:

What scares the Haitian police the most is not visible to most outsiders. Jails and prisons fell down in the quake, and 4,000 Haitian inmates escaped. Many were the leaders of Cite Soleil gangs, which act as armies of intimidation; they work for the business elite and politicians, carrying out kidnappings, assassinations, extortion and political intimidation -- often for hire. They were deeply involved in drug trafficking.

Andresol vowed, "I will find these guys and put them back in prison."

But U.N. officials say the United States denied a request to send down a prison ship. There is no place to house inmates in the city.

The prison ship denial surprised me. First, because the concept of a prison ship is not a familiar one to me. It's not something I'd thought about but I guess having a floating, mobile incarceration facility is useful in some instances.

Second, I figured that the US (aka Incarceration Nation)would certainly have a prison ship or two. This country seems spare no expense in building its domestic security infrastructure--like war, it's something America still does well--so I have no doubt that my government owns a number of prison ships.

They are probably all full.