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Public Facilities And Private Prisons

Decent Essays
Prison is an institution designed to securely to house inmates who have been convicted of crimes. The United States holds the records for having the largest inmate population residing within the walls of the correctional system. The inflation in correctional spending and the largest prison population have impelled lawmakers and the government to look toward the privatization of prisons. Privatization of prisons is the use of private sector or corporation in financing, constructing, and managing correctional facilities as an alternative. In this paper I will discuss the history, the types, and the pros and cons of prison privatizations. Private prison can be traced back in the 17th century to the contracting out of confinement and reimburse prisoners after the American Revolution (Private vs. Public Facilities, Is it cost effective and safe?). “Deprived of the ability to ship criminals and undesirables to the Colonies, Great Britain began placing them on prison ships secured in English ports”(Private vs. Public Facilities, Is it cost effective and safe?). In addition, private prisons have a long history in the United States as far back as 1852 when San Quentin, California was the first for-profit in the United States. In the 1980s ushered the new era of prison privatizations. “With a burgeoning prison population resulting from the War on Drugs and increased use of incarceration, prison overcrowding and rising costs became increasingly problematic for
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