by yixin shen and patrick shin private prisons. prisons that are run by third parties that were...
TRANSCRIPT
By Yixin Shen and Patrick Shin
Private Prisons
• Prisons that are run by third parties that were contracted by the government
Private Prisons are…
• Correctional Corporation of AmericaoEstablished in 1983 with
first contract in 1984oLargest private prisons
contractor• Other companies include...
oGEO. GroupoCornell
Leaders of the Industry
State of Private Prisons
Oklahoma Department of Corrections
Prison Policy Initiative
History
• Private imprisonment had
been common in England• Late 1800s - The Convict
lease • Prisoners were leased out
to private companies as
part of the work force • Poorly conditioned and
corrupted • Significant racial element
– 1928 - Alabama is the last
state to outlaw convict lease
History
• The private sector began to approach that mainstream in 1979 when the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) began contracting with private firms to detain illegal immigrants pending hearings or deportation
• Private prison business first emerged in 1984 when the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) was awarded to take over a facility in Hamilton County, Tennessee
• By the time a national census of juvenile correctional facilities in the United States was conducted in 1989, the number of privately operated facilities had grown to 2,167, compared to 1,100 public ones
Economic Benefits oThey are operated
under market economy so efficiency is valued
oLess costly to maintain and saves taxpayers money
Private Prisons are Beneficial
Private Prisons are Beneficial
• Prison qualityoEmployees are much more accountable
compared to public prisonsoRecords indicate many private prisons
outperformed public prisons
Private Prisons are Beneficial
Cornell University: Restructuring Local Government
• Other benefits and advantagesoPrevents overcrowdingoWill not necessarily replace public prisonsoBrings about economical benefits to the
community
Private Prisons are Beneficial
• The Arizona Department of Correction: Private prisons outperformed state-run institutions
• Convicts rated Tennessee's Silverdale Detention Center, which was taken over by private enterprise, with high regard
• A Bureau of Justice Assistance study found that private prisons have slightly higher rates of assault on inmate and staff, but substantially lower rates of riots and inmate death
• Elliott D. Pollack & Company in Arizona reports that "the construction of a single 3,000-bed correctional facility would generate over 2,500 new jobs paying more than $116 million in salaries and wages that would result in more than $300 million in economic activity."
Private Prisons are Beneficial
• Reason Foundationo A non-profit think tank that promotes Libertarian valueso Supportive of many private prisonso Writes articles and opinions pieces that support private
prisons • ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council)
o Conservative and private sector policy advocateso Creates model laws for legislatorso Consist of legislators, governors, congressman, and
many private sectors. Includes CCA
Private Prisons are Beneficial
Evidence Against Private Prisons
• Do not provide sufficient health care to prisoners• Can not control violence• Falsely releasing prisoners• Criminal activity within the prison• Sale of drugs within the prison• Does not pay its workers well• Training of guards do not meet the standard of a
government run prison
Private Prisons are harmful
Private Prisons are harmful
• Incentive to cut costs and maximize profit presents a threat to the safety of prisoners
• an illegitimate delegation of government authority to allow private companies to take control of an integral part of the justice system
• It is the proper duty of the public sector to determine just sentences for violations of the law
Private Prisons should be Banned
• To be profitable, private prison firms must be filled 90-95 percent to guarantee return needed to lure investors
• Over-reliance by government on incarceration at the expense of preventive social programs
• To increase profit margins, companies have cut corners on drug rehabilitation, counseling and literacy programs.
Private Prisons are harmful
Private Prisons are not Beneficial
• Private Prisons Do Not Save Money
Private Prisons are harmful
Interest Groups Against Private Prisons
• C.A.P.P. (Citizens Against Private Prisons)• AFSCME (American Federal of State, County
and Municipal Employees)
Recent Developments
• Private Prisons Helped Draft Arizona Immigration Law (November 2nd 2010)
• State Funded For Profit Juvenile Prison Sued for Assault (October 18, 2010)
Bill
• Omnibus Appropriation Bill–State Criminal Alien Assistance
Program–Prison Rape–Cable Television in Prisons–Residential Substance Abuse
Work Cited• Segal, Geoffrey. "Private Prisons Better Suited to Address Problems." Reason Foundation. Reason Foundation,
10 Oct. 2003. Web. 03 Nov. 2010. http://reason.org/news/show/private-prisons-better-suited.• "New Study Proves Economic, Fiscal Benefits of Correctional Partnerships." CCA. CCA, Spring 2010. Web. 03
Nov. 2010. http://www.insidecca.com.• Bourge, Christian. "Sparks Fly over Private vs Public Prisons." Prison Policy Initiative. 20 Feb. 2002. Web. 03
Nov. 2010. http://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/sparksfly.shtml.• "Percent of Prisoners Held in Private Prisons." Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Oklahoma Department of
Corrections, June 2006. Web. 03 Nov. 2010. <http://www.doc.state.ok.us>• Nathan A. Benefield, "Private Prisons Increase Capacity, Save Money, Improve Services," Testimony to the
Pennsylvania House Labor Relations Committee, October 24, 2007.• Sullivan, Laura. "Prison Economics Help Drive Ariz. Immigration Law : NPR." NPR. NPR, 28 Oct. 2010. Web.
04 Nov. 2010. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130833741>• McFarland, Stephen, Chirs McGowan, and Tom O'Toole. "Prisons, Privatization, And Public Values."
Restructuring Local Government. Cornell University, Dec. 2002. Web. 04 Nov. 2010. <http://government.cce.cornell.edu/doc/html/PrisonsPrivatization.htm>.
• Gainsborough, Jenni. "The Truth About Private Prisons." AlterNet. 15 Dec. 2003. Web. 04 Nov. 2010. <http://www.alternet.org/story/17392>.
• "Private Prisons Do Not Save Money." AFSCME. AFSCME. Web. 4 Nov. 2010. <http://www.afscme.org/publications/2550.cfm>.
• Silverstein, Ken. "America's Private Gulag." CorpWatch. CorpWatch, 1 June 2000. Web. 04 Nov. 2010. <http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=867>.
• Smith, Phil. "Private Prisons:Profits of Crime." MediaFilter. 1993. Web. 04 Nov. 2010. <http://mediafilter.org/mff/prison.html>.
Khimm, Suzy. "Are Private Prisons worth the Cost?" Washington Post. Washington Post Company, 23 Aug. 2010. Web. 04 Nov. 2010. <http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/08/are_private_prisons_worth_the.html>.