The Private Prison System War On Drugs And Mass Incarceration

Despite what you may think, private prisons have existed in the United States dating all the way back to 1852, beginning with the San Quentin state prison. Private prisons did not truly become as common as they are today though until President Ronald Reagan led a large-scale effort for increased privatization around the United States during the 1980’s. One result of this effort was a large upswing in the number of private prisons. As a result of private prisons becoming more common place, it has been seen that compared to prisons run by the government, length of sentences have gone up within private prisons, while at the same time the treatment of prisoners has gone down. This topic interests me because I believe that it should never be in the best interests of such a large and powerful group to have as many people as possible in prison for as long as possible. In my opinion, it is not ethically correct on a basic human level to ever have it in people’s best interests to keep other people in prison. I chose this topic because I have always held a strong opinion on this topic but have never had the time to do extensive research on it and either confirm or dispel my current beliefs about it.

Privately owned prisons are prisons operated by private entities for profit. They can be owned by individuals or companies and earn money through unethical practices. These prisons are supposed to cut cost, which they do by providing dangerous living conditions, submitting workers (both convicts and prison employees) to unethical work conditions, understaffing, and underpaying (Blesset 9). By cutting cost owners of theses prisons thrive financially from the imprisonment of criminals which is unethical.

A prison is a building made up of hard, cold, concrete walls and solid steel bars in which individuals, known as inmates, are physically confined and deprived of their personal freedom. This is a legal consequence that is imposed by the government to lawbreakers as a punishment for a crime they have committed and for the protection of the community. A private prison is much like a public prison except people are incarcerated physically by a “for-profit” third party who has been contracted by a government agency. These private prisons enter into an agreement with the government, and the state pays a monthly amount for every prisoner who is confined in the private facility. In both public and private prisons, incarceration cannot be imposed without the commission and conviction of a crime. Even though public and private prisons may seem to be the same in several aspects and are used to serve the same purpose, there are numerous differences between the two. At one point the Obama administration opted to put an end to private prisons; on the other hand, the Department of Homeland Security and current President Donald Trump fought for them to stay in place. The U.S Justice Department and the Bureau of Prisons will realize that keeping private correctional facilities in place is a huge mistake; therefore, will opt to phase out such facilities and will stick to housing inmates in the public state-run prisons.

For profit prisons came about because the over populated prisons, they needed somewhere to put inmates. So, private prisons started and they would house inmates. They also started because they told people that they would save states money. The Asia-Pacific Economic Blog Organization https://apecsec.org/private-prisons-pros-and-cons/ provides information on the benefits of private prisons. It says the main reason that private prisons came about is the because of lower operating costs. Which is one of the good reasons to have a for profit prison. They can buy supplies in bulk because they can find the best prices. Government ran institutions are under contracts that do not allow them to do that. It is also said that quality of care can be better in private prisons. Because they are in a free market economy, the competition makes them provide good care. And often times the cost of the

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.

dilemma with public verse private prisons is observed by countries all over the world. Furthermore, in the article Doing well and doing good: The case for privatizing prisons the Australians discuss the possibility of privatization of their prisons. However, they take note of the American experience with privatization of the prisons. The characteristics that have been noted were that they were corrupt, morally bankrupt and secretive. Contrary to the before mentioned characteristics Ms. Glushko reported that the private institutions are less expensive, more accountable, transparent and innovative. Additionally, the review article The Social Order of the underworld what goes on in the US prisons should worry the UK states that just maybe the

The claim that prison privatization demonstrably reduces costs and trims government budgets may detract from the critical work of reducing the state’s prison population.

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

If the offered cost per inmate is lesser in a private prison than in a government run facility; the former will readily give an allowance based on number of prisoners housed by the prison. However, even if private prisons promise to save taxpayer money; there have been investigations regarding the veracity of these convictions. According to the New York Times, private prisons offer but slight savings if any in comparison to state-run prisons. For instance, Arizona’s Department of Corrections found that private prisons often “cherrypick” prisoners --choosing the non-violent, healthier and overall least expensive inmates to to oversee --which in turn makes them look more cost-effective than they actually are. What’s more, these for-profits are also putting up prisoner quotas. If a certain number of beds aren’t filled which is usually 90%; states are obliged to pay for the unused beds. Case in point was Arizona which had to pay a $3 million fine to Management & Training Corp. after their 97% quota wasn’t met in 2010. Even more outraging is the fact that three inmates had escaped from this facility not one year earlier; prompting officials to demand improvements and abstain from sending new inmates to what they considered a “dysfunctional 3,300-bed facility”. According

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

The privatizing of the prison systems, around every country is a huge revenue source the overcrowding and use of prisoners as a profit tool and; it simply isn’t meant for rehabilitation, but as a tool for cheap labor, convicting the innocent, and monetary gain. Prison this is the place where all the lowlifes go the scum, rapist, and desperate marauder’s that stalk in the night. Prison is in the place where the bad people go away from society to serve a potential life sentence for one’s crimes or for years on end all the while trying to correct their deviant tendencies. Yes, we all see prison as a place for reform of the morally corrupt to become better through the lesson of freedom and most rights taken away. To be put into a harsh environment

I am in agreement with you that private prison are out to only make money. Their lack of responsibility for proper rehabilitation is an injustice to the government and inmates. Without proper rehabilitation, inmates upon release will fall into the same criminal lifestyles and be back in prisons. The cycle keep going repeating itself and the private prison continues to make profit.

Private Prisons started in parts of Europe and have been becoming more and more common throughout the world. Private prisons, also known as for profit prisons, is a place in which individuals are incarcerated by a third party that is contracted by a government agency. Private prisons usually are used once a prison is overcrowded with prisoners in a local or federal government jail, the government will then pay a third party to operate a prison to hold more prisoners. These prisoners usually then will get taken either to the private prison or stay at the government owned prison.

Currently prisons are operating at above capacity because more people are coming in than are getting out. This is a trend that is going to continue to rise. The alternatives are to let people go, lower sentences or to outsource the prisoners. Letting people go on a lesser charge is an option that is being used and outsourcing to private prisons is also in use. Private prisons are better alternative because they can house the inmates of the prisons choice and in most cases do it at a lower cost. Private prisons are also held to the same or higher standards than federal prisons. “Private prisons comply with the standards of the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections and have a much higher accreditation rate than government prisons. (Thomas, 2001)” This ensures that the private facilities are complying with their contract and operating how they are supposed to be. There has only been one private prison shut down since they started popping up. This facility was

A criminal is easier to deal with when they’re found dead. A living criminal must be tried in court of their peers, provided legal representation, and then must have whatever prison time they receive - if any - paid for by the Government. Meanwhile a dead criminal just needs to be acknowledged then buried. When it comes to dealing with live criminals, a government finds itself in a position where it must provide for the safety and wellbeing of members of society that are often ignored, which can be costly and lead to endless legal red tape. Seeking to relieve some of this burden, The United States quickly leapt at the opportunity to take some of that burden and deliver it to the private sector, and thus, the private, for-profit prison was born (Mason). since we already live and work under the control of the free market, privatization prisons makes sense in a capitalist society. While this a straightforward and appealing approach, the nature of a prison system and the duty it must fulfill in society makes such capitalist ideals difficult to implement effectively as well as dangerous in practice. While not necessarily an abject failure, prison privatization has been extremely detrimental to American society. The issues caused by private prisons are multifaceted and complex, but they can be simplified into three main areas: an increase in recidivism, a decrease in prisoner quality of life, and private influence over the American legal system.