Policy Options Brief
To: Governor Cuomo
From: Soraya Reyes and Jingyan Zhang
Date: Monday, March 9, 2015
Re: The Continuance of Safety Issues Surrounding the Privatization of the Prison Complex
System
Prison privatization began to expand since 1980s under Reagan Administration, resulting
from War on Drugs and the changes in federal sentencing and correction policy (Pelaez, 2008).
This has led to the increasing number of incarceration, prison overcrowding combined with
the rising per capita cost of incarceration which has become problematic for local, state and
federal governments. Private prisons should be reformed from traditional private contracting
department to the entire service of operation and management departments .
As of 2013, there were 133,000 state and federal prisoners housed in privately owned prisons in
the US, constituting 8.4% of the overall U.S. prison population (Alex, 2012). Currently, safety
in private prisons emerged as a controversial issue. Government funding on the basis of per die
m per inmate, in order to maximize revenues, as a result private prisons have minimized costs i
n on every level which resulted in dangerous prison conditions, high levels of violence,
promoted negligence and abuse. These facilities are understaffed, ill-managed, and unsanitary
while inmates protest and escape.
The main purpose of a prison is to provide revanche, incapacitation, rehabilitation and
deterrence. By the Eighth Amendment prisoners have a right to be free of cruel and inhumane
conditions. Prisoners have a right to adequate medical care . Prisoners diagnosed with mental
illness have a right to medical treatment that is appropriate for their circumstances. (findlaw)
PROBLEM l: Cost Cutting Measures in effort to make better profits:
Cost cutting measures are the primary culprit. The reduction of security and lack of inmate
monitoring. In order to provide better manage prisoners and maintain adequate care privat
e prisons should invest more on employees. They have financial incentive to cut costs to generat
e profits, however which increases instability. Low quality staff and higher employee turnover co
ntribute to decreased security and high levels of violence. Lack of training for employees leads t
o committing operational errors and mistreat prisoners, even participating in criminal activities o
f selling drugs to inmates. A correctional officer must undergo 174 hours’ pre-service training,w
hile 232 hours required in public prisons. Increase wages and benefits for guards to reduce turno
ver rate, due to 53% turnover in private prisons versus 16% in public ones (In the Public Interes
t. Org). There exists higher prisoner-to-guard ratio which provides potential risk for the inabilit
y to control inmates uprising and riots. In terms of operating costs, approximately 70-80 percen
t of a prison’s expenses are related to staffing.?The 2000 Corrections Yearbook found
that public prisons had an average guard-to-prisoner ratio of 1 to 5.6, compared with a ratio of 1
to 8 in private prisons. This option requires cost-benefit analysis. Private prisons aim at making
profits, their cost can’t outweigh the payment from government, at least they should follow
basic requirement to ensure the safety for both guards and inmates, further the community as a
whole.
Policy Option I: “Lowering the Truth-in-sentencing requirement”
Allowing none violent offenders to serve 70 percent of their time could have a annual savings
of 1.55 billion dollars a year. This money could be used to reinvest in the penal system and
provide staff personal with better training (Knafo, 2013)
Policy Option II: Improving Private Prisons Conditions:
Improving private prisons conditions through a standard guideline that places regulations on t
he prison capacity. This can be done with the help of our congressional delegates and gover
nmental agencies. Since 2000, number of people held in private prison facility increased by 120
%, while the number of facilities only increased by 33% (Ashcroft, 2011). The overcrowding situation could exasperate conflicts between inmates. The overall decline in quality
raises the likelihood of less rehabilitation, more recidivism. It also shows private prisons have slo
wer response times of ambulances and paramedics which can determine life or death. They
should spend more on psychiatric and medical care, as well as food, education, recreation, in
order to treat each inmate as an individual with dignity.
Policy Option III: Changing Policies to Reduce the Incarceration Rate:
Changing policies to reduce the incarceration rate such as the elimination of the Rockfeller
Laws. The Drug laws Life Sentence with no parole would be one aspect. Reexamining the drugs
laws would be cost effective due to the governmental annal cost of $63 billion in order to
maintain the penal system. The US. has five times the incarceration rate then Britain and Spain.
(npr.org) Reducing the incarceration time of those individuals that were sentenced to crack
possession would potential create a savings of $229 million dollars a year. (Knafo, 2013) The
U.S has 25% of world’s prisoners with only 5 percent of the world’s population. As revenues of
private prisons increase steadily, they have more power to influence policymakers to lobby for laws such as truth-in-sentencing statutes and threestrikes laws, which required lengthy prison terms or life sentences for certain offenders. To build
a safe and healthy community, government should reduce the incarceration rate and approve earl
y release for good behavior. Government should invest more on prevention rather than on cure,
to keep people out of justice system before they commit crimes.
Policy Option IV: Transforming the Prison System Model:
The business model of prisons could be transformed into publicly-owned sector on the open m
arket. The open market would give the government more bargaining power to supervise
the private prisons and make timely instruction on improper measures.
Policy Option V: Publishing Prison Statistics:
Private prisons will be required to publish statistics on method of operation. This would inform
the public on the prisons success or failure of daily operations. Private prisons are not subject to
open records meaning that they are in no obligation in showing record of their operation which
measures their ability to manage prisoners in the facility. (Citizens for ethics)
Policy Option VI: Fining Corporations:
Enforcing safety standards and heavily fining institutions for violations would be an effective
approach in challenging the penal system. This would create a counter effect on the proposal
creating a a state funding balance. Gov. Martinez proved to be effective when she first took
office. She demanded contractual compliance with the private companies tantamount to the
maintenance of safety regulations for the staff and inmates (Fischer, 2013). The reduction of
security and lack of inmate monitoring are actual issues that can be curtailed by placing strict
policies on private prison institutions that adhere to the same rules and regulations as the public
sectors and mandate fines up towards the millions on the corporation that did not meet the safety
standards of operation (Ryne Kessler, 2014). This method has proven to be effective in
maintaining safety regulations for staff and inmates coherently, due to the demand of contractual
compliance. In fact, Beyond amending the FOIA, legislation could also mandate disclosure of all
records held by private prisons and the corporations that run them
Conclusion:
Admittedly there exist safety issues in the emerging private-sector prisons, if government could
enact proper statutes to regulate their operations, private prisons can be relied on to perform
efficiently and cost-effectively in order to relieve the financial and spacial stress of the
government.
Thank you for your attention and we would like to look forward to your solving this safety issue.
References:
1. Vicky Pepaez: “Prison Industry in the United States: Big Business or a new Form of Slavery”
(Mar. 10, 2008)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-prison-industry-in-the-united-states-big-business-or-a-newform-of-slavery/8289
2. John Ashcroft: “Emerging Issues on Privatized Prisons” (Feb, 2011)
https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bja/181249.pdf
3.Alex Fiedman: “The Societal Impact of the Prison Industrial Complex, or Incarceration for Fun
and Profit-Mostly Profit” (Jan. 15, 2012)
https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2012/jan/15/the-societal-impact-of-the-prison-industrialcomplex-or-incarceration-for-fun-and-profitmostly-profit/
4.In the Public Interest.org: “Prison Privatization” (Apr. 19, 2011)
http://www.inthepublicinterest.org/sites/default/files/Prison_Backgrounder_Brief_Template%5B
1%5D.pdf
5. “Gaming the System: How Political Strategies of Private Prison Companies Promote
Ineffective Incarceration Policies” (Jun, 2011)
http://www.justicepolicy.org/uploads/justicepolicy/documents/gaming_the_system.pdf
6 “Private Prisons Spend Millions on Lobbying to Put More People in Jail” (Jun. 23, 2011)
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/06/23/251363/cca-geogroup-prison-industry/
7. “Private Prisons Demand States Fill Their Empty Beds” (Sep. 25, 2013)
http://www.mintpressnews.com/private-prisons-demand-states-fill-empty-beds/169600/
8. ”The Drug Laws that Changed How We Punish” (Feb,2103)
http://www.npr.org/2013/02/14/171822608/the-drug-laws-that-changed-how-we-punish
9. ”Private Prisons: A Bastion of Secrecy”
http://www.citizensforethics.org/page//PDFs/Reports/CREW_Private_Prisons_FOIA_secrecy_report_02_18_2014.pdf?nocdn=1
10. Findlaw:“Rights of Inmates”:
http://civilrights.findlaw.com/other-constitutional-rights/rights-of-inmates.html
11. Saki Knofo: “10 Ways to Reduce Prison Overcrowding and Save Taxpayer Millions”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/08/prison-overcrowding_n_4235691.html