Current Trends
Trends in Corrections Privatization Private prisons enjoyed another banner year in 2007. All levels of government expanded their use of private correctional services, sustaining the trend of rapid growth in prison privatization. And there were signs of far more sweeping policies, as some officials began looking beyond contracts for individual prisons. According to the University of Florida's Private Corrections Project, the expansion of private adult corrections continued to be very robust in 2007. The number of inmates in private prisons increased about 25 percent, from 85,201 to 104,000, and the number of private prisons rose to over 155. Private prisons do not just hold minimum-security prisoners. There are currently three maximum-security, 16 all-level, and 53 medium-security private facilities, as well as many minimum-security private facilities. Significant Projects The biggest news of the year came from Tennessee, where legislators proposed privatizing two-thirds of the state's 20 prisons. This would be an unprecedented move, both because of its scale and because it would entail privatizing facilities currently run by the state Department of Corrections. To date, most private prisons in the nation have been new facilities, and privatization has not displaced many government correctional employees. Tennessee's proposal would mean the first large-scale movement of government correctional officers into private prisons firms. The Tennessee legislature will be working on this initiative well into 1998. Controversy over the exact amount of cost savings, whether to privatize the prisons all to one company or bid them out in lots, and how fast to move forward, among other things, ensured that no firm action was taken in 1997. In addition, the state correctional employees’ union has vehemently opposed the idea. In response, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the largest private prison firm, which helped initiate the proposal, arranged to have the AFL-CIO represent any state correctional employees that come to work for CCA. State officials are still working on other issues, such as the precise cost savings to be demanded, performance measures, and whether to include more than one facility in a contract to take advantage of economies of scale. Another major initiative is under way in Washington, D.C., where last summer Congress passed the District of Columbia Revitalization and Self-Government Act. The act gained public attention across the nation by taking control of much of the District's government away from locally elected officials. One of the provisions of the act placed control of District corrections under the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Sen. Sam Brownback (R-TX), a key supporter of the act, disagrees. At a capitol briefing on state and local experience with private-sector corrections hosted by the Reason Public Policy Institute, Sen. Brownback stated, "The private sector has proven itself at the state and local level and is clearly capable of helping the District improve its correctional system without further burdening the taxpayers." RPPI presented the evidence that there are over 130 private prisons in the nation today, many in operation for nearly 10 years, three of those facilities are maximum security, and another 16 are rated to hold some maximum-security inmates. Moreover, the many studies comparing public and private prisons overwhelmingly find that the private sector provides quality corrections for less cost. Other speakers at the briefing, including representatives of state departments of corrections and private prison firms, urged the BOP not to reinvent the wheel, but to learn from the state and local experience. It remains to be seen how the BOP will move forward. The chief of privatization management at the bureau, Mike Janus, wants time to evaluate the outcome of the existing contract with Wackenhut Corrections to run the new 2,048 - bed federal prison at Taft, California. Meanwhile, he says, the BOP will move forward with planning to comply with the law. Speaking of the prison at Taft, California, that is another significant development. The minimum-security federal prison outside this small farming town is the first federal prison to be operated by a private firm. The contract builds on the successful use of private prisons by states and by federal agencies, like the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the U.S. Marshals, which have long hired private firms to run low-security detention facilities. Wackenhut will run the prison for three years, with seven optional years, for about $30 million per year. The Bureau of Prisons views the prison contract as a pilot and will evaluate its success after five years to determine if other federal prisons should be privatized. Two states contracted for their first private prisons. Idaho bid out the construction and operation of a new 1,250 - bed minimum-security prison. The winning bidder was CCA, which will build the prison for $49 million - $16 million less than it would cost the state to build it. CCA will be paid $39 per inmate per day, $6 less than the comparable cost in state prisons. State corrections officials told the legislature that privately built prisons can be built quickly and save the state start-up costs. Michigan also contracted for its first private prison, a 480-bed maximum-security facility for juvenile offenders. Wackenhut won the bid to design, construct, and operate the facility, which will cost roughly $37 million to build. The state of New Mexico has been unable to resolve a battle over the governor's plan to have two new prisons privately built and operated; two state legislators have repeatedly sued the governor to block his plans. County governments have picked up the slack; the two facilities are now being built by and will be operated by - Wackenhut. Lea and Guadalupe counties financed the projects themselves, believing the projects will be good for their local economies. Elsewhere in New Mexico, Santa Fe County chose Cornell Corrections to take over operation of the existing county jail and to build and operate a new 504-bed facility. The county will pay Cornell $29 million to build the new facility and to renovate the existing jail and convert it to a juvenile facility. Cornell won the contract in part because of promises to focus on rehabilitation, rather than mere incarceration, and to give hiring preference to local applicants. The combined facilities will have 660 beds, and the county's average inmate population is 280 adults and juveniles. Cornell will generate revenues by leasing the excess beds for inmates from other jurisdictions. New Utility Free Prison Buildings James Parkey's Vision: Private prison authority and President of Corplan Corrections, James Parkey, provides the empirical context for understanding the debate over private prisons, examining their historical origins, present status and future prospects. Intriguingly, Parkey notes that many aspects of the criminal justice system have long been privatized. Many states, for example, house one-third to two-thirds of their interned juveniles in private facilities. Seen in this light, opposition to private prisons is difficult to understand. |