Premium Essay

Private Prisons

Submitted By
Words 865
Pages 4
There is common debate over whether there should be an implementation of private prisons in the United States. This implementation would require the prison facilities to work with private contractors in order to decrease issues currently present in public facilities. Within the implementation of private facilities there are arguers who claim that the private facilities are going to have issues controlling the overall well-being of the inmates and therefore there have been studies conducted in order to show whether private facilities will be more beneficial to these prisoners. The studies conducted to determine the impact of private facilities have judged the prisons based on a few key areas including quality, cost, security, and recidivism. …show more content…
Opposers to private facilities claim that the private cooperators of these prisons will be only interested in what would create for them a monetary gain instead of what was seen as best for the prisoners in the facilities (Durnam). This would eventually result in a deteriorated quality of the prisons that are involved in this privatization. According to Durnam, there has been a long history of private facilities having the intentions to only make a monetary gain rather than helping the people that are in their facilities. This belief that there will be an apathy for the prisoners causes a distrust in private corporations’ ability to manage prison facilities. However, those that believe private prisons are a beneficial way of managing detention facilities claim the well-being of prisoners can be easily managed and corrected if seen to be …show more content…
This facility is privatized with the company CCA, Correction Corporation of America, and the study was conducted by giving out survey to inmates and having them compare this facility to the public facility in terms of their quality of life. In regard to their quality of life the private facility was seen as an improvement to the public facility when speaking about physical improvement, upkeep, cleanliness, staff competence and fairness, work assignments, request and grievance procedures, counseling and religious services, visitation and telephone privileges, and outside contacts. The data however showed a mixed array of positive and negative responses in terms of safety, security, classification, medical care, food, education, and legal access in the private facility. Brakel, concluded that this showed a substantial increase in the quality of these facilities because of the overwhelming evidence for an increase in the institutions upkeep and physical conditions. Another scholar, Logan, however asserted that the public Silverdale facility was extremely poor and so therefore it would not be difficult for the data to unreliably show an increase in quality for the private facility. Logan concluded that this data was not reliable in showing the increased quality in private prisons over public facilities but an increased quality for that particular

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Private 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...

Words: 3474 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Private Prison

...(ThinkProgress). If one were to combine that knowledge with the fact that the inmates are supplied with dollar store supplies as well as cheap and low quality food ($3 per day), one would be able to see that these inmates are not getting their “due.” One study conducted at a private prison in Mississippi found that “all inmates report significant weight loss since arriving at [private prison], from ten to sixty pounds” (Holbrook Mohr). The money these prisons are receiving is not for their willingness to look after the inmates. Instead, it is for the inmates themselves, so that they are appropriately fed, clothed, and overall taken care of. Along with the reported mistreatment of inmates, there seems to be an underwhelming...

Words: 729 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Private Prisons

...“A Private Prison or for-profit prison is a place in which individuals are physically confined or interned by a third party that is contracted by a government agency” A private prison corporation is contracted by the state to manage prisons for their own profit. Privatization of prisons began in 1980s under Ronald Reagan due to the rapid increase in prison population because of war on drugs. United States is home to five percent of the world’s population with 25 but holds 25 percent of world’s prisoners. U.S holds the highest youth incarceration rate in the world, over 130,000 juveniles detained in the U.S every year and around 70,000 everyday in detention over minor offenses. Between 1990 and 2009 number of people in private prisons increased...

Words: 525 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Private V Public Prison

...address criminal behavior have always influenced how and why society uses prisons. Prisons are intended to meet a variety of social goals, including incapacitation, deterrence, discipline, punishment or retribution, and rehabilitation or reformation. Some have argued that public prisons are better at all of the above while most support private prisons. The term prison privatization commonly refers to the policy of contracting out the management and operation of prisons and jails to private, for-profit companies. Prison privatization is a controversial issue, with ongoing debate over the ethics of delegating the punishment function of the criminal justice system to private actors, weather private prisons cost less to operate than public facilities, and if the quality of security and conditions of confinement differ between public and private prisons. In 2005, approximately 200 private correctional facilities operated in the United States, housing a total of 107,000 inmates. Four companies provide more than 90 percent of private prison capacity. About 6 percent of all state inmates and 14 percent of federal inmates are incarcerated in privatized facilities. The idea of privatizing prisons emerged in the 1980s as a policy remedy to the problem of growing incarceration rates, severe prison overcrowding, and constraints on increasing government funding of new prison space. Public investment in new prisons climbed eightfold from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, but was at or approaching...

Words: 1405 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

My Paper Private Prisons

...Privizaitonal of prison bail system certain amount of money as bond return to you when you show for trail you have great you don’t big trouble. Pay the bail or await the trial in jail. You may say no big deal but for the many that don’t have the money the question becomes “what do you do, what do you do when the requested amount of money you don’t have and you can’t get it from any other means you have to go to jail. You have to spend time in the prison system or the county jail awaiting trial for a non-criminal offense. Of course some of us would love to take a train back to the beginning of the sentence when I said he was driving with a suspended license of course this wasn’t his first offense with such charge, then again it is a non-violent offense. And what he is left with is spending time in jail, yet Ryker’s Island, prison. Now if you can’t afford the bail, there are alternatives that you can choose….check this out::::::same URL for John Oliver just set it at 4:44 So was the system set up to accommodate the rich and persecute the poor or was it set to persecute the wrong doer period? Well a report in 2013 “40% held in custody inability to pay bail”…… Jail can do to you actual life what being the marching band can do to your social life, if you are in it for only a little while it can destroy you…simply destroy you…..better use in d.c. judges set bail only if they can afford it, if you can you go home if you can’t you still go home awaiting trial. This is call pre-trial...

Words: 1611 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Should Private Prisons Be Banned

...Most people like to think of America's justice system as flawless and a prime example of American Democracy. Sadly, this is not the case due to for-profit prisons. Today, I will be arguing that private prisons are unconstitutional and corrupt enterprises with multiple harms that constitute a danger to society and thus should be banned with all due speed. By virtue of being private, these prisons are unconstitutional and should not exist. “The Supreme Court has found that under the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, the Government may not delegate discretionary governmental functions to private entities with a financial stake in the way such discretion would be applied.” [2] In other words, the government cannot delegate...

Words: 515 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Total Quality in Private Prisons

...To the attention of the Prison Governor North of England Sir, Following are some national scale statistics related to prisons’ performance and associated costs as issued by the Center for Social Justice in March 2009A. which I would like to use as argument in reply to your statement on Total Quality. - Prisons population has increased dramatically in the last decade, counting as of today about 83000 people; - Approximately three quarters of young prisoners under 25 and two thirds of all adult prisoners are reconvicted within two years of release; - Today, the annual public expenditure costs of running prisons and managing offenders is over £5 billion, which combined with £11 billion costs of re-offending as estimated by Social Exclusion Unit (in 2002), amount to an annual total of £16 billion. Relating statistics to your statements, I agree with you, “Total Quality is a myth” but I add “because people in charge fail to commit to it” Although not directly related to our business, I want to use these statistics as a means to show the impact of Total Quality culture as compared to traditional management style of prisons. A critical analysis instead, leads to the conclusion that prisons management and the correctional system is stuck in a closed cycle between overcrowding and failure to rehabilitate. This is part of a traditional prison management where more of the same, brings in turn more of the same, resulting in long term progressive loss, both financial...

Words: 2305 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Comparisons Between Public Prisons and Private Prisons in the Us

...state prisons, and county jails in 2013. The main reason is because of high-occurrence rate of criminal deviance happened. Based on the research, races and classes are two main factors caused criminal deviances. And based on the historical data, white and black arrested rate for murder and robbery are almost the same while white arrested by forcible rape and forgery more (Around 70%). But there’s a significance difference in population of race since the report of population in 2013 showed that 72.4% of population is white alone and only 12.6% of population is black alone, which means black race has the higher criminal rate. And among the violent crime in the US, the assaults stay the highest and murders stay the lowest throughout the history. Both rates per 100,000 population committed assault and robbery crimes varied a lot throughout the history and reached the peak in 1990’s and both rates of rape and murder stayed relatively the same throughout the history. With the high requirements and costs (Around $30,000 per inmate/year) of prisons to hold these inmates, the cash-strapped states start to give their prison operation industry to private prisons. The modern private prison business first emerged and established itself publicly in 1984 when the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) was awarded a contract to take over a facility in Hamilton County, Tennessee. Now private prison is a $5 billion industry and 8.4% of US prison population is housed in private prisons. The US...

Words: 1761 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

The Pros And Cons Of US Private Prisons

...to the private sector for correctional services? Because budget constraints and overcrowding have combined to create a problem, if not a crisis, in the nation’s prisons and jails. Governments are incarcerating more criminals, but they have recently become more uptight to the idea of spending sufficient tax dollars for new prisons to house the criminals. The prison system is turning into a living nightmare; overcrowding, lawsuits, and court orders are flooding in at unprecedented rates. With taxpayers demanding that criminals be put in prison and kept in longer, there seems to be no choice but to increase the capacity of the prison system. But with pressure to cut government...

Words: 1546 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

The Advantages and Disadvantages of State vs. Private Prisons

...The advantages and disadvantages of state vs. private prisons The advantages and disadvantages of state vs. private prisons In both state and private prisons, it is important to keep in mind that while the prisoners are being punished, they should be treated as human beings. The treatment of prisoners is just one of the issues when dealing with both types of prisons. There are many differences and similarities in state versus private prisons. These factors result from more than just funding issues; there are several factors to look at when studying each type. The main points that many people argue about are funding, privileges, and conditions or treatment. Not one of these factors is more important than the other. Financing for private corrections facility varies from state to state and from facility to facility. Georgia private prisons may be funded differently than a private prison in Florida. However there are two main forms of financing the capital cost earned during the construction of private correction facilities. The first option is that the corporation undertakes the construction of the private correction facility without the assistance of the public and rents the services to contracting jurisdictions. The other choice is that the facility may have the jurisdiction issue bonds to finance the development of the private facility. Private prison operators depend on cooperation from elected officials who are willing to continue funding experimentation with...

Words: 1079 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Public Prisons V Private Prisons

...Written Assignment Author notes This paragraph is submitted on August 31, 2013 J106/CCJ1153 Section 05 Criminology: Motives for Criminal Deviance - 2013 Summer Quarter With the arrival of novel technologies, it has become much easier for the law enforcements agencies to combat against the organized crimes. Technology has been playing a very major, important and influential role in the elimination of crimes from our society. Technological innovations and devices such as Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras have been proven as very successful in the prevention of organized crime. Proponents of video surveillance, this system helps, prevent crime. The role of technology has played important role in the fight against crime because it is the use of computers and walkie-talkies...like for example the use of walkie-talkies for one police officer to the next and the computers that the police officers use in their squad cars to look up the offenders home address, past crimes, driver license and things of that nature. And also the use of technology is used by the F.B.I and the other big major U.S.A government facilities, with the use of their computers they can track, persons. Walk through gate is another very important technological device for preventing the crimes and organized crimes of higher level and severe intensity. The security measures include the screening of passengers and their baggage at the time of check in and boarding, but also the monitoring of movements in...

Words: 609 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Public vs Private Prison

...Poverty in the U.S. Abstract Poverty in the United States is rising at an alarming rate. One in every eight residents are homeless or living at the poverty level according to the Census Bureau. There are several programs or strategies that need to be developed by the Government to try and put an end or at least have a resolution in place to help our citizens. We are one of the richest countries, but there is more money being spent on wars, than there is to make sure people have a roof over their head. “The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty, and all forms of human life.” (John F. Kennedy) We the United States of America need to make a commitment to ending poverty and creating strategies and guidelines in order to achieve this commitment. Putting an end to poverty will require responsibility and improved choices by individuals and more structured policies from the government. With the poverty rate remaining at a high rate of 15 percent for all Americans and 21.96 percent for children, there should be more policies being implemented and in place to help put an end to the suffering. Socrates states in his quote “It is not living that matter, but living rightly”. Living rightly would mean to look at the bigger picture and determine where cuts need to be made, and what the government can do to decrease the poverty level until it no longer exist. How can we be considered one of the richest countries...

Words: 380 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Pros and Cons of Privitazation of Prisons

..."Pros And Cons Of Prison Privatization" Prisons are institutions that have specifically been designed to handle the members of the society who are under conviction of different crimes. The people who reside in the prisons are referred to as inmates or prisoners and the time they spend in the prisons depends on the imprisonment period. This period is dependent of the intensity of the crime committed. Once in the prisons, the inmates undergo rehabilitation, incapacitation, retribution and deterrence which are elements considered appropriate for the provision of justice to the society. In the past, it has been the responsibility of the government to manage these institutions on behalf of the society. The process of privatizing the prison industry has both negative and positive effects. Sloane, 1996). Privatization has been applied in prison departments in most countries across the globe, there are few countries who used it in the past. For example during the mid 18th century, the United States government entered into a treaty with a number of private investors to manage a number of its institutions and these investors went ahead to contract inmates to some of their private enterprises as a source of labor. Some of the institutions that were contracted included 'New York Auburn and Louisiana' penal colonies. However, this did not last for long based on the fact that there was rampant corruption that was carried out as well as vicious resistance from other...

Words: 2154 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Study

...INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PRISONS: DOES THE EXISTENCE OF PRISONERS UNDER PRIVATE MANAGEMENT AFFECT THE RATE OF GROWTH IN EXPENDITURES ON PRISONERS UNDER PUBLIC MANAGEMENT?* James F. Blumstein** Mark A. Cohen*** * Work on this project was funded by the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and by the Association for Private Correctional and Treatment Organizations (APCTO). ** Centennial Professor of Law, Vanderbilt Law School; Director, Health Policy Center, Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies. B.A. (Economics), Yale College; M.A. (Economics), Yale University; LLB, Yale Law School. Institutional affiliations for identification only. *** Professor of Management (Economics), Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University; Director, Vanderbilt Center for Environmental Management Studies; Leverhulme Visiting Professor and Visiting Professor of Criminal Justice Economics, University of York (U.K.). B.S.F.S., Georgetown University; M.A. & Ph.D., Carnegie-Mellon University. Institutional affiliations for identification only. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This study investigates the relationship between (i) the fact that a particular state houses some of its prison population in prisons that are privately owned or operated and (ii) the growth in costs per prisoner in publicly operated prisons. The core objective has been to determine whether the existence of prisoners under a state’s jurisdiction that are held in private facilities can have a beneficial...

Words: 8885 - Pages: 36

Premium Essay

The Prison Break Summary

...Lee Bergen In The Prison Break genius and revolutionary Grayson Silverman discusses the positive economic, political and social impacts of the continued legalization of private Prisons. Grayson Silverman helps to inform those currently unaware on the issue while also providing deep factual information. He supports his research with hard boiled facts and study's. Ensuring that this report is both factual and interesting. The Prison Break It is quite easy to look at private prisons and see them as evil corporation which uses the captivity of people to generate a profit. There are many benefits that are commonly over looked by the media because they wouldn't generate nearly as many ratings if they...

Words: 725 - Pages: 3