Private Prisons Pros And Cons

The private prisons industry is growing rapidly, in the year 2011, companies that were a part of the private prison industry brought in "$1.7 billion: [in] total revenue recorded by CCA" (Lee) and many have questioned the intentions of the companies that own and operate those facilitates. The history of private prisons can be traced "as far back as 1852 when San Quentin was the first for-profit prison in the U.S." (“Private Jails”). Private prisons did not become popular again until the 1980s, when a "wake of wide-spread privatization" happened (“Private Jails”). Since the resurgence of the private prison, there have been two primary sides. Those who oppose private prisons state that profit drives the companies who operate and construct the
First, we have the safety concern that critics bring up when the topic of private prisons is mentioned. Secondly, we have the dependency issue they bring up when talking about data relating to the industry’s growth in the last decade. Finally, we have the issue of keeping inmates locked up in order for the private prisons to make more money. Since private prisons are in the business of making money, they are always tempted to cut corners to turn a greater profit each quarter. They do this by hiring people who are not properly trained when compared to a staff member who is employed by a publicly prison ran by the state. In fact “private prison employees receive 58 hours less training than their publicly employed counterparts” (Mason). A nationwide study found that “assaults on guards by inmates were 49 percent more frequent in private prisons” (Smith). The study also saw that inmate-on-inmate assaults were “65 percent more frequent in private prison” (Smith). Given these statistics, those who are critics of private prisons have a valid reason for concern. These statistics allow for critics to show that there is a strong possibility that the lack of training given by private prisons. Leads to a higher risk of violence within the prison walls. Since their staff members are not adequately trained to handle the duties they are required to perform on a day to day basis. Furthermore, dependency is an issue
Rather than making sure the inmates are cared for properly, and that the staff is properly trained to handle the prisoners. That is why I believe they need to implement stricter guidelines for private prisons to follow. For example, all employees should have the same amount of training hours their public counterparts do. In addition to the training hours, they should also put a limit on the number of private prisons that are allowed to open each year. Finally, in an attempt to lower the amount of violence that occurs in the private prisons. They should make sure that there are more rehabilitation programs implemented in order to decrease the aggression inside the prison and increase the chances of the prisoner not returning to a facility. If these three simple guidelines do not happen, and they decide to continue with their current strategy. Then I feel it would be necessary to shut down they entire industry and transfer the inmates to a publicly run prison. Where we at least know that the inmates are not only being kept there in order to make the facility more