Prison Privatization Essay

In order to maximize their profits these private prisons see a large deficiency in their quality of care. This deficiency is described by Charles H. Logan as “corner cutting” (Logan, pg.119) and in the sake of profit these cuts “mean poor food and less of it, fewer services, and cheaper labor with lower professionalism and less training.” (pg.119) With profit as these private contractors’ main concern it raises question on the everyday treatment of the inmates of these facilities and what freedoms may be compromised for the sake of increased income. However, it’s not just the prisoners who could be neglected by this design in

Privatization – Privatization, as defined by the textbook, is “the movement toward the wider use of private prisons” (Schmalleger 448). This movement began in the early 1980s and was slow to cat on, however it has since grown at a rapid pace. In 1986, only 2,620 prisoners could be found in privately run confinement facilities. But by 2012, privately operated correctional facilities serving as prisons and jails held over 130,900 state and federal prisoners across 31 states and the District of Columbia. The largest growth came in the federal sector, with a 784% increase in the number of federal inmates held in privately run facilities between 1999 and 2010 (from 3,828 to 33,830). Today, the privatization of prisons refers to both the takeover of existing public facilities by private operations and to the building and operation of new and additional prisons by for-profit prison companies. Many of the new prisons, additionally, are built to house out-of-state inmates and depending on the jurisdiction. The local, state, or federal government is then charged a per diem or monthly rate for each prisoner. In terms of private prisons, these are defined as for-profit type prisons which is a place in which individuals are physically onfined or incarcerated by a third party that is contracted by a government agency. Private prisons companies typically enter into contractual agreements with government that commit prisoners and then pay a per diem or monthly rate, either for each

In 2001, Emerging issues on privatized prisons found many striking statistics concerning the privatization of prisons. It is estimated that worldwide there were 184 privately operated correctional facilities. Within the United States, a total of 158 private correctional facilities are operating. A substantial portion of the worlds privately owned correctional facilities are in

As the number of prisoners have constantly been rising at an exceedly fast pace, several governments around the world have embraced the use of private prisons. Private prisons are confinements run by a third party, through an agreement with the government. In the United States, it is estimated that there are over 1.6 million inmates, of that there are 8% that are housed in privately-operated prisons. While the other 92% are housed in the public prison system. Private prisons have existed since the 19th century. Their use increased in the 20th century and continues to rise in some states. When a government makes an agreement with a private prison, it makes payments per prisoner or vacancy in jail on a regular basis for maintenance of the prisoners. Privatization became involved due to the fact that prisons were becoming overpopulated. Public prisons contracted the confinement and care of prisoners with other organizations. Due to the cost-effectiveness of private firms, prisons began to contract out more services, such as medical care, food service, inmate transportation, and vocational training. Over time private firms saw an opportunity for expansion and eventually took over entire prison operations. However, now their security, how they treat the inmates, and their true cost effectiveness has come into question

Crime rates are down in America, yet there is an unproportionately large number of Americans incarcerated. This paper will delve into and examine this problem and how it is closely linked to private prisons and the issues surrounding them. While private prisons claim to be cost effective and well-run, evidence has shown that these profit-driven companies ignore ethical consequences by purposefully lengthening prisoners’ sentences, target certain groups for incarceration and maintain despicable living standards for the prisoners; ultimately, these prisons have caused more harm than good for the state.

Thesis: Private prisons actually exacerbate many of the issues they were designed to solve by incentivizing increased incarceration, and at the same time they produce lower value than regular prisons while ultimately costing more, such that private prisons should be abolished and incarceration should remain exclusively public.

But unlike federal prisons, private ones focus on maximizing gain rather than saving money, and maximizing gain becomes possible with the business practices aforementioned. Not only has the prison itself been privatized, but also the food and medical care. One company in particular is the Aramark Corporation who provides food to prisoners at a lesser cost. If there’s one thing not to be thrifty about, its food, and this proved to be true when there were serious cases of prisoners being mal fed reported all throughout the system. There were 65 reported cases in Ohio alone of food failing to be provided or running out of it, and 5 cases of maggots being found in the food. The Aramark Corp. has also changed their recipes to include cheaper and sub standard ingredients in their food. These prisons are failing to provide these prisoners with basic human care, because the fact that they’re in prison doesn’t change the fact they’re

The United States government had been working closely with private prison corporations for over three decades. Private prisons were first constructed to help the U.S. government house an ever-expanding prison population, and to relieve the government of some expenses. Today, these privately owned facilities have stirred up controversy with the questionable results of their formation. While it can be difficult to compare private prisons to public prisons, several researchers conclude that private prison corporations are harmful to society in the United States because they hinder economic stability, establish systems that negatively impact prison staff and inmates, and

Are Private Prisons being run for profits or are they just a solution to the current problems we are dealing with today in society? There has been a recent debate on whether private prisons are being run for profit for their corporations or for the people. Especially with the expected increase in stocks on the two major private prison corporations due to the election of our new President Donald Trump. There has been many different problems and views arising to this. Many of the problems I will be talking about that include the important topic of mass incarceration and the safety of the inmates and staff at these facilities.

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.

California is suffering from a crisis in the prison system. Its facilities are operating at double capacity and " grossly deficient medical care" is the cause of at least one inmate death per week (Wood, 2008, para. 2). Because of this need for reform, the federal government is stepping in to direct the state prison’s operating procedure. Although the financial choices of each state should be free from federal control, the federal government is still known to put pressure on states to make decisions, especially when lawsuits arise. An example of federal legislation commanding state behavior is busing. The states felt that they should have the autonomy to decide whether racial integration was right for them. The federal government,

America has a major problem with overcrowding in its prisons, and action needs to be taken. Since 1970, the inmate population in the United States has increased over 700%, far greater than the general population as a whole. This has led to declining quality of life within the prison system including 8th Amendment violations and it represents a needless drain on state finances. There is simply no value in keeping non-violent convicts in the prison system, sometimes for years. The costs are high, and there is very little benefit to America. The justice system needs to be overhauled to relieve the massive crowding in US prisons.

Corporate officials often have conflicting motivations to run these prisons and sacrifice the quality of care in their organizations in order to make a profit. A majority of the problems arising in private prisons is due in part to lack of government oversight and insufficient accountability. In addition to inadequate accountability, for-profit prisons hope to generate the greatest possible profit, and do this by any means necessary. Some will argue that the savings to the taxpayer is worth it, however the current data available clearly says otherwise.

No, prisons should not be run by private companies. Whether the private companies stated it or not, they are in the business to make money. Private companies claim they are able build a facility in less time than the government. In doing so, they often “cut corners, and do not use the same quality materials and construction methods (Cripes, pg. 481)”. Additionally to conserve funds, private companies “required the smallest possible staff” which may pose a security risk (Cripe, pg. 481). It was the states who sentenced inmates to prison, so it is the state’s duty to supervise the sentencing not a third-party.

In the 1970s and 1980s, a massive amount of inmates began fillin up the United States prison systems. This huge rate of growth in this short amount of time, has greatly contributed to the prison overcrowding that the United States faces today. In fact, the prisons are still filled to the seams. This enormous flood of inmates has made it practically impossible for prison officials to keep up with their facilities and supervise their inmates. One of the main reasons why many prisons have become overcrowded is because of states’ harsh criminal laws and parole practices (Cohen). “One in every 100 American adults is behind bars, the highest incarceration rate in the world” (Cohen). The amount of inmates in corrections systems, throughout the