By Jill Schnall and Tim DiPaolo
Introduction
States are contracting private prisons to
take prisoners from public prisons
mainly to relieve overcrowding
 States pay certain amount to firms for
each prisoner in the private prison
depending on security level
 Corrections Corporation of America vs.
GEO group Inc. (Wackenhut
Corrections)
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History
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early 1980s
The Justice Assistance Act of 1984
1985 first state-level private-prison contract
was signed in KY
1990 Illinois expressly forbid prison
privatization
1998 NC ended contractual arrangement
with CCA for operation of 2 facilities CCA
had built
History Cont.
1998 Corrections Corporation of America
charged
 1999 2 CCA prisons in NM had stabbings
and deaths
 2002 TN Supreme Court in Memphis
Publishing Company vs. Cherokee
Children and Family Services
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History Cont.
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2005 Prison Legal News sued GEO group
for non-compliance with FL laws on public
records
2007 Friedmann v. CCA – PLN sued due to
non-compliance with 2002 court decision
CCA unwilling to comply with Freedom of
Information Act
2002-2008, 85 CCA employees were
charged with crimes
2007 Proposed H.R. 1889
For Private Prisons
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Prevent overcrowding
Save tax payer dollars
Not a new idea
Contractual and legal safeguards to ensure
quality
Contract can be terminated for
mismanagement
For Private Prisons Cont.
Financial incentives help to maintain order
and security
 Many studies show that privately run
prisons have a higher quality of service and
level of performance
 Freedom to set their own budget and
design their own facilities
 Provide healthcare, education, and rehab
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Against Private Prisons
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Savings are a result of lower quality
services (food, medical care, basic needs)
Lower levels of staff and training
Misplacement of inmates
Doing justice should be the government’s
job
Profit motives cause operators to cut
corners
Against Private Prisons Cont.
Officials in private prisons report the
behavior of prisoners to state authorities
 States often do not oversee prisoner
transfers in privatized prisons
 Gaining power may cause private
companies to have influence over
corrections policy
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Corrections Corporation of
America (CCA)
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Innovative, efficient, cost effective, forwardthinking correctional solutions
Helps Economy
 Pays sales taxes and property taxes
 Pays utility payments and construction costs.
 Creates jobs for an average of 200 skilled
tradespersons on new construction projects
 Employs hundreds of new professionals
 Revitalizes existing local businesses and helps
establish new ones
CCA Cont.
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Helps Community
 Community Relations Committees
 Supports a variety of causes and organizations
○ Habitat for Humanity, the American Cancer
Society, March of Dimes, the American Red
Cross
Variety of rehabilitation/education programs
 addictions treatment, GED preparation/testing,
post-secondary studies, life skills, employment
training, recreational options & work
opportunities
American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
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Prison run on taxpayers' expense
Gets lower quality of services
 Understaffed, unqualified and poorly trained
corrections personnel
Public workers are laid off
Corruption scandals
“preserve quality public services, ensure that
public service employees are treated fairly and
hold elected officials accountable to the public”
AFSME Cont.

Supports H.R. 2305 – Public Safety Act
 End taxpayer-supported privatization
Corporations care more about profit than
public safety and security
 Fundamental government responsibility
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Table 3. Number of State or Federal Prisoners in Private Facilities, 20002008
Number of Prisoners
Year
Total
Federal State
Percent of
All Prisoners
2000
87,369 15,524 71,845 6.3%
2001
91,828 19,251 72,577 5.8%
2002
93,912 20,274 73,638 6.5%
2003
95,707 21,865 73,842 6.5%
2004
98,628 24,768 73,860 6.6%
2005
107,940 27,046 80,894 7.1%
2006
113,697 27,726 85,971 7.2%
2007
123,942 31,310 92,632 7.8%
2008
128,524 33,162 95,362 8.0%
Average annual
change 2000-07 5.1%
10.5% 3.7% :
Percent change
2007-08
3.7%
5.9%
2.9%
:
Source: Sabol, William J., Heather C. West, and Matthew Cooper,
Prisoners in 2008, Appendix Table 18.
Note: Figures are as of December 31 for each calendar year.
Evidence/Statistics For Private
Prisons
Prison population is growing by more
than 400% each decade
 Federal prisons would need 35,00040,000 new beds each year
 Control 87,000 beds at 65 institutions
 2009 – net income of $42.5 million
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Evidence/Statistics:
Against Private Prisons
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Arizona
 49% more assaults on staff members
 66% more inmate on inmate assaults
 53% turnover rate of employees
 Starting wages 23.4% lower
 Higher position wages 39.4% lower
Evidence/Statistics Against
Private Prisons
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GAO spent 1 year examining studies of
private and public prison costs
http://www.afscme.org/publications/2550.cfm
Recent Developments
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July 3 2010 prisoners escape from AZ private
prison
2010 SB 1070 (Arizona Immigration Law)
Nov 2010 AZ state audit found private prisons
cost taxpayers per inmate $55.89 per day
while public prisons $48.13 a day
Prop. 19 in CA
Nov 2010 Walnut Grove, the Walnut
Correctional Authority and GEO group vs.
Dennis Earl Holmes
2010 PA Judge pleads guilty
Green Party
Private prisons should be illegal
 Prisons treat people as their product
 Provide worse service than government
run facilities
 Profits come from understaffing
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Arnold Schwarzenegger’s View on
Private Prisons
In favor of private prisons
 Public Prisons are too crowded
 Government spends too much money on
prisons
 Cut costs on prisons
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Arizona Democrats
Oppose giving control of state prisons to
private corporations
 Unregulated
 Safety Issue
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Additional Information
http://www.correctionscorp.com/
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXOH
tlvO9jI
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Works Cited
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