Privatization of American Prisons

Although the government sees this step as a cost cutting measure, this change has not come without its problems also its detractors. Even so, privatization of prisons and the services it takes to operate them seems to be the way of the future for the corrections

dilemma with public verse private prisons is observed by countries all over the world. Furthermore, in the article Doing well and doing good: The case for privatizing prisons the Australians discuss the possibility of privatization of their prisons. However, they take note of the American experience with privatization of the prisons. The characteristics that have been noted were that they were corrupt, morally bankrupt and secretive. Contrary to the before mentioned characteristics Ms. Glushko reported that the private institutions are less expensive, more accountable, transparent and innovative. Additionally, the review article The Social Order of the underworld what goes on in the US prisons should worry the UK states that just maybe the

This information source has a higher degree of credibility because of the author’s position within the field of corrections. The information confirms that a gap exists and misguides the actual cost of prison privatization (Miller, 2013).

Over the last couple of years, there has been a major discussion as to whether you should privatize a medium-security prison in your state. They guarantee substantial savings to the state and that may be true but the effects of this would be much greater. Private prisons have been known for inmate misconduct and lead to many court cases. Penal Corporation left out that they offer inadequate compensation to staff which can lead to many problems. Finally, although it may not be factual, it is said that private prisons have no lower and maybe higher rates of recidivism.

The situation in the United States is different because the states each have their own criminal codes and a more extensive penal system. Each state must decide its position on the matter of privatization. Because of this, there are no available figures on the extent of privatization in terms of contracts for services. Joel (as cited by John Howard Society, 1994) noted that all but nine states have contracted out for miscellaneous services to varying degrees. Department of Correction lacks both a sufficient number of beds to house total inmate population and an adequate system of high security beds to manage high-risk population

As of 2005, there are over 107 privately operated secure facilities contracting to hold adult criminal offenders in the United States (Seiter, p. 164) According to Richard P. Seiter (2011), “A private correctional facility is any correctional facility operated by a nongovernmental agency and usually in a for-profit manner that contracts with a governmental entity to provide security, housing, and programs for offenders” (Seiter, p.93) However, there is much controversy over whether private prisons are helping to have more cost effectiveness and efficiency than a public prison system. Private prisons at first seemed to be a well-rounded idea. Despite, the initial

Questions that continue to be debated publicly, governmentally as well as scholarly is what role, if any, private prisons should play in the future incarceration needs in the United states, should there be limitations developed with regard to private prison usage, and ultimately, who should run them, government or private business owners. Following is a review of the scholarly literature regarding prison privatization in an attempt to address the aforementioned questions.

I am writing this memo in response to a request to analyze the benefits and disadvantages of privatized prison systems. With the present economic environment, it is important to explore all options that could reduce the state’s deficit. This research project will explore the cost benefits to the privatization of California’s prison system, in comparison to other cost saving options. It will use statistics from other states that use private prison systems, as well as federal detention facilities that are privately managed. The purpose of this analysis is to reduce spending as a whole, and to not place a financial burden on local governments. It is also important to note that prison sentences

In recent years, various prisons have converted to privatized ownership of prison operations, compared to the public operation by local, state, and federal governments. Privatization first surfaced in the 1980s due to the problem of overcrowded prisoners and the exponential increase of the cost of operation says Ramirez (2015). According to Shefer and Liebling, other reasons for privatization of the prison systems included the public system lacking integral resources, a need for cost and management skills, and to attain a different relationship between prisoners and staff (2008). I took an interest in this topic after watching an informational video about the prison system by John Oliver. Oliver utilized a comedic, entertaining twist on the story to explain the problems with the prison system.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2004 there were five private prisons with 2000 inmates (Source E). In 2014, it was reported that there were over two hundred prisons with 125,000 inmates. This drastic increase in private prisons and their populations begs the question of whether or not private prisons truly should be legal. When assessing the facts, it is shown the despite helping to alleviate overcrowding, private prisons are harmful to the economy and overall more detrimental than beneficial.

As can be demonstrated and exemplified from the statistics, it argued that, from approximately 300,000 inmates during the 1970 to above 2.3 million today, that to end, America can now account for having 25% of the world’s prison population (Jing, 2010; Price and Morris (2012). This gave room for the private prison industry to evolve into what it is today, due to the vast increase of prisoners. Worth to mention is that private prisons have become a cheap and easy solution to the continued increase in prison population which has caused social, legal, health and humanitarian challenges for the government of the united-states. Jing, (2010) argues that the major objectives for the privatization for the government is to reduce overcrowding, efficiency

The United States have been using private prison for many years. The use of private prisons has steered up a huge controversy worldwide. The main two private prison companies are CAA and the Geo Group, Inc. The idea for the use of private prisons is that the government will save more money. However, the evidence has been mixed over the years on whether the use of private prisons saves money or not. There have been cases where private prisons have cost more than state prison. Also, the use of private prisons has been associated with various cases of health issues and acts of violence. This problem qualifies as a criminal justice issue because of the amount of money that private prison companies are receiving from the amount

Prisons have been around as long as we have, but there is a new phenomenon on the horizon known as privatized prisons. This is making headlines because of all the controversy it causes. Proponents of privatized prisons say that it reduces cost, and saves a lot of money in the budget. On the other hand, opponents of this say that it reduces prisoner rights, and takes away employee benefits, among other things. Although privatizing prisons leads to fewer costs for the government, it decreases the worker’s benefits, and even sometimes eliminates them, and it creates a culture of needing to incarcerate more and more people on increasingly petty crimes.

Private prisons today connect the governments in need of additional prison capacities with private companies, who are willing to provide that space and run them.  Many believe it is a good idea to have private prisons, due to its community and housing benefits. On the other hand, private prisons are seen as unfavorable, due to its low wages and staffing. Throughout this paper, I will explain both sides of why private prisons should be banned or not and state my position. Content Section Stated in the textbook, the inmate population has increased 500 percent, between 1980 and 2005, which shows the excessive need for additional prison options within the United States.

In the 1960s, America had a population boom. The budget did not allow for prison expansion so, as a result, they needed more investment from companies. Plus, the extreme overcrowding in federal prisons assured the government they needed to find a way to solve the issue on hand. In order to reduce spending in prisons, the government turned to private organizations to begin running correctional facilities with more efficiency which allows for less overcrowding in federal prisons and less tax dollars needed to run a prison, but soon causes its downfall as the companies try too hard for a bigger profit.