#02 The Route in Ending Prison Privatization
Queens Detention Facility located in Springfield Gardens, Jamaica, Queens NYC was once working with the state’s criminal justice system to house incarcerated inmates. This private prison facility which was operated by The GEO Group was later locked down due to the controversies involving violation of its inmates’ human rights. Back in 2011, Bill de Blasio who was then an advocate of New York City Public brought The GEO Group to US department of Justice seeking to end the contract with them stating that “This is not complicated: government should not do business with companies that violate basic human rights”1.
The case with the Queens Detention Facility controversy is just one of the stories we
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The memo was signed by Sally Yates who is currently the Deputy Attorney General, instructing the officials to limit its resort to private prisons, as she stated the goal is “reducing -- and ultimately ending -- our use of privately operated prisons.”2 She has instructed the officials not to renew contracts with these private prison companies, or significantly reduce its scope if it is really necessary for renewal. She further explained in the memo that private prisons, “… simply do not provide the same level of correctional services, programs, and resources; they do not save substantially on costs; and as noted in a recent report by the Department’s Office of Inspector General, they do not maintain the same level of safety and security” .3
Looking at the statistics, the number of prisoners has multiplied by almost 800% from 1980 – 2013, is the primary reason why the federal state has first resorted to the privatization of prisons, the same sentiment was related by the Justice Department’s Inspector General, Michael Horowitz, to prevent overcrowded public facilities of federal jailhouses. However, with the report that he has released earlier in August, it turned out that private prisons are now more problematic and violent than its public