Privatization in the United States

Dr. Fernandez CRJ 1050 25 March 2017 The number of private prisons have been increasing in America since 1983, which may have brought problems to America. Private prison companies enter a contractual agreement with governments that commit prisoners into the facility then pay a per diem or monthly rate for each incarcerated individual. Independent companies have built, contracted, and staffed private prisons in states across the United States. Private prisons are for-profit prisons, but prisons offer no real benefits and bad investments for America. This type of prison hurts local economy and has a high turnover rate.

In the United States, the private prison industry is estimated to be at least 5 billion a year industry. Theres still a lot of uncertainty about private prisons and its success. Some people believe that privatization will save taxpayers money while other people are afraid that private prisons have no real rehabilitation. One huge flaw of the privatization correction facilities is the system is built to make money, then the prison has a less desire to get rid of its workforce. This type of prison has a less desire of letting prisoners go early, which would make the facilities more money from taxpayer dollars.

The government takes control of parole decisions. According to Green Garage Blog, that the prison industry engages in a lot of cherry-picking and cost-shifting to maintain the illusion that the private sector does it better for less (Green Garage Blog, 2017). Another flaw of private prisons is that it may lead to more violent escapes from prison. The Green Garage Blog states, Lower staffing levels and training at private prisons lead to an increase in violence and escapes (Green Garage Blog, 2017). According to a nationwide study, assaults on guards by inmates were 49 more frequent in private prisons than in those run by the government.

In that same study, it was also revealed that assaults on fellow inmates were 65 more frequent in for-profit facilities. Some studies show that most private prisons are funded by the industry, which reveal that states can save money by using for-profit prisons. The installment of more private prisons would satisfy both the taxpayers and prisoners and transitioning to the privatization of prisons would overall benefit the nation as a whole. 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. Managing prisons can be expensive, time-consuming, and labor-intensive and therefore require the government to spend a huge amount of resources. However, this can be avoided when the government outsources prison management to third-party companies. These companies can lower their expenses by limiting the benefits they give to their employees. 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.

According to Gossamer Threads Inc. We found that, in most key areas, contract prisons incurred more safety and security incidents per capita than comparable BOP institutions and that the BOP needs to improve how it monitors contract prisons in several areas. (Gossamer, 2017). Private prisons refer to places of incarceration that are managed by a third party thats contracted by the government instead of being run by the government itself. The privatization of prisons can happen in three major ways. First, the government may build the prison then outsource its operations to third parties.

Second, private companies may run the prison from start to finish they finance, design, and construct the facilities and, once the buildings are erected, they eventually manage the prison. Third, the government may take a prison thats currently managed by the public sector and contract it out to a private company. If a business feels that there a profit to be made, even in an area that is usually thought of as a part of the public sector, it will try to get its foot in the door and make that profit. Private prisons claim to cost less than prisons ran by the state, while offering the same level of service.

In fact, the Corrections Corporation of America has one of the largest for-profit prison corporation, which states that their business strategy is to provide quality corrections service while offering a better value to their government partners at the same time making a profit. However, opponents of private prisons say they do not save states money because of their hidden cost. At any rate, more than a few states have found private prisons to be advantageous. 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.

References

Gossamer Threads Inc. (Ed. ). (2017, March 21). Prison Privatization. Retrieved March 28, 2017, from https//www. prisonpolicy. org/research/prison_privatization/ Green Garage Blog. (Ed. ). (2015, October 30). 5 Foremost Pros and Cons of Private Prisons. Retrieved March 28, 2017, from https//greengarageblog. org/5-foremost-pros-and-cons-of-private-prisons