Privatization of Prisons
Privatization of Prisons
Private Prison, Inc.
Introduction America has been getting tougher on lawbreakers. This is something that the public long has been demanding. The problem it creates, however, is a shortage of prison capacity to hold the increased numbers of convicted criminals. This has led to: prison overcrowding, sometimes prompting court actions against penal systems; rapidly rising operational outlays; and taxpayer resistance to the cost of new prisons. A partial answer to the problems of prison overcrowding and high costs may be the "privatization" of prisons. Costs and overcrowding problems are the driving force behind the privatization phenomenon. As a national average, it costs roughly $20,000 per year to keep an inmate in prison. There are approximately 650,000 inmates in state and local prisons. This costs taxpayers an estimated $18 billion each year. More than two thirds of the states are facing serious overcrowding problems, and many are operating at least 50 percent over capacity. Cost comparisons between private and government operation of prisons show frequent cost savings under private management. While the national average cost to hold a prisoner in a government run prison is $40 per inmate a day, many privately run prisons charge the governments on average lower fees. U.S. Corrections Corporation (USCC), a private company headquartered in Louisville charges Kentucky charges a daily fee of $25 per inmate. In their first year of operation in 1986, USCC saved Kentucky an estimated $400,000. A competitor of USCC is Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), based in Nashville, Tennessee, and founded in 1983, is the largest private corrections organization in the country. CCA runs the Bay County Florida county jail. CCA charges Bay County, Florida $29.81 per day per inmate to operate the Bay County Jail. Before privatization of the facility, the daily cost was $38 per inmate. In 1985, CCA's first year to operate the jail, CCA
Private Prison, Inc.
Introduction America has been getting tougher on lawbreakers. This is something that the public long has been demanding. The problem it creates, however, is a shortage of prison capacity to hold the increased numbers of convicted criminals. This has led to: prison overcrowding, sometimes prompting court actions against penal systems; rapidly rising operational outlays; and taxpayer resistance to the cost of new prisons. A partial answer to the problems of prison overcrowding and high costs may be the "privatization" of prisons. Costs and overcrowding problems are the driving force behind the privatization phenomenon. As a national average, it costs roughly $20,000 per year to keep an inmate in prison. There are approximately 650,000 inmates in state and local prisons. This costs taxpayers an estimated $18 billion each year. More than two thirds of the states are facing serious overcrowding problems, and many are operating at least 50 percent over capacity. Cost comparisons between private and government operation of prisons show frequent cost savings under private management. While the national average cost to hold a prisoner in a government run prison is $40 per inmate a day, many privately run prisons charge the governments on average lower fees. U.S. Corrections Corporation (USCC), a private company headquartered in Louisville charges Kentucky charges a daily fee of $25 per inmate. In their first year of operation in 1986, USCC saved Kentucky an estimated $400,000. A competitor of USCC is Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), based in Nashville, Tennessee, and founded in 1983, is the largest private corrections organization in the country. CCA runs the Bay County Florida county jail. CCA charges Bay County, Florida $29.81 per day per inmate to operate the Bay County Jail. Before privatization of the facility, the daily cost was $38 per inmate. In 1985, CCA's first year to operate the jail, CCA