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Privatization Pros And Cons

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Once outlawed in the beginning of the 20th Century Vickers (1991), private corporations have made a come back with possessing and operating prisons for profit. Privatization is a controversial issue that can be dated all the way back to the days of the civil war. The corrections industry analyzes its re-appearance today amidst globalization and the most impressive growth of prisons in all of modern history, painting an analyzable portrait of what few are calling the "prison industrial complex." Whenever a state wanted to build a new prison, they traditionally would ask the voters to approve the cost through a bond issue. But, voters throughout the country began to say no. Originally tax dollars had to pay for prisoners stay while they were …show more content…

Private prison industries claim that it can save the states money on corrections expenses and better the standards of the facilities. However, many citizens are concerned that private prisons should not run facilities that house inmates. This paper will discuss the history of privatization and different debates about privatization. History and Key Debates of Privatization Private enterprise in the United States has a large history of involvement in the provision of correctional services. According to Feeler (1991), the first English colonists arrived in Virginia in 1607. The colonists were followed by roughly a handful of convicted felons, who were shipped by private entrepreneurs to America to be sold into servitude. These trips to America were organized by private entrepreneurs. Convicts were transported in order to sell them as indentured servants. Transporting convicts to America was an innovation that radically changed the administration of criminal justice. This innovation enlarged the power of the state without the need to increase its administrative structure. During the 18th century, privately operated facilities became popular. The United States copied the English custom, …show more content…

There have been a few problems with comparing costs between private prisons and public prisons. One problem that was encountered while doing this research was that it was hard to find two prisons that were alike enough to make comparisons to. The most important problem has been incompatibilities in determining what counts as a cost in both the public and private sectors. Cost comparisons have been very difficult according to Douglas McDonald who is a senior social scientist in the Law and Public Policy Division Associates Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (2015) Even though the government has public records for citizens to see the statistics was outdated, the Federal Bureau of Prisons showed statistics for 2013. McDonald (2015) stated that the government had some deficiencies in the treatment of capital spending. Showing problems with accurate cost is important but there have been a number of studies to determine if private prison are cheaper than public prisons. According to community officials in jurisdictions which house local prisons, cost could be seen as a major advantage. A court judge in Beattyville, Kentucky, stated that the average cost to house a prisoner in a public prison would be about 40 dollars a day, while the cost to house that same prisoners in a private prison is only 26 dollars (Ammons, et al, 1992 pg 38). According to the General Accounting Office (1996) comparing a private prison to a public prison

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The industry has much power in states that learn further right-wing in the political sphere; mostly due to the views of many regarding the restriction of the government power and preference for the privation of most all services. When prisons are privatized, profits then become the main purpose and as a result, those incarcerated in privatized institutions often suffer as a result; mostly in the poor food, labor conditions, and overcrowding. This issue of terrible conditions of these prisons doesn’t just influence the incarcerated, they instead affect society as they often fail at rehabilitation, even at a higher rate than public, creating more crime when those incarcerated are reintroduced into

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Private prisons were constructed as a response to the overcrowding in federal prisons during the 1980s; many people speculate whether or not private prisons are good or bad. Critics argue that private prisons like any business are driven by profit, and prisons profit from the amount of criminals they are able to contain which gives the private prisons and their shareholders incentive to keep the prison population high and expenses low. The National Council on Crime and Delinquency estimates that over the next ten years state and federal expenditures on prisons will amount to $351 billion6. These government subsidies along with the support of private prison shareholders allow the prison industrial complex to keep their power and influence

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A. Life in prison is not the path any average person wanders down, or perhaps even plan for. Also, it is safe to assume that any person who has been to prison would let the outsiders know that is not fun, nor is it a life anyone devotes to living. In Michael G. Santos’s book, Inside: Life Behind Bars in America, Santos explains what living behind bars in America is like. Unlike most of the population in prison for violent offenses, Santos was in prison for the opposite reasons: a major drug bust. Santos was also sentenced to federal prison, instead of a state/local prison, for forty-five years which stemmed from a high-profile cocaine bust that occurred in Miami, Florida.

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In the United States there are a large number of people incarcerated for a variety of offenses. This does not come cheap for the American taxpayer. American taxpayers pay for all of those incarcerated in the US. The sheer amount of imprisoned can lead to a hefty bill.

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As stated here “The more money a state spends on building and running prisons, the less there is for everything else, from roads and bridges to health care and public

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(BBC, 2013). Juliet Lyon agreed, she claimed this would be “pouring taxpayers’ money down the prison building drain”. She added that this investment should be put into preventing crime and health care instead. She also said smaller local prisons are safer and better at reducing recidivism rates. Joe Simpson agreed and said the MoJ are choosing to overcrowd prisons to cut costs, over focusing on

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According to the book, State and Local Government, “2.3 million people are confined to state prisons and local jails in the United States” (Bowman and Kearney 459). Also prisons have grown 4 percent over the years. However, “prisons continue to operate beyond official capacity in many states, despite the construction of numerous new facilities to reduce the problems of prison overcrowding and its accompanying conditions of poor sanitation, inadequate health care, and high levels of violence” (Bowman and Kearney 459). There are three factors to the reason behind high imprisonment rates such as harsh sentences, public opinions, and drug enforcement penalties. But most are concerned by who should pay, how much is the public responsible to help pay, and how much should

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The 19th century brought a change in the dynamic of the prison system. Public offense and shaming gave way to penitentiary to “prepare for life as law-abiding citizens.” This change is now clearly seen as the just move, extending dignity and a second chance to most inmates. However, there would be certain drawbacks, as were witnessed in later years. As John Esperian writes, correctional thinking always “reflects the ideas and values of the societies and governments which mandated it.”

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Private prisons are not held to the same standard as public prisons. Public prisons have many rules such as what the prisoners are fed, medical care, and how many guards are on a unit. To help private prisons save cost the Federal Bureau of Prisons applied fewer rules on private prisons. To achieve a bit of a saving private prisons tend to cut back on staff cost and training and have a higher inmate-to-staff ratio than public prisons. The data on if private prisons save more is inconsistent, some research says it does, while some do not.

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III. Cost a) How can we lower costs? b) Depending on the state, it costs $40,000 to house an inmate c) We are now spending more on the imprisonment of people instead of education the children of America. d) It will cost us less in the long run if we can fully rehabilitate inmates so they don’t keep coming back.

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Justin Jones, director for DOC, reported that private prisons in Oklahoma are all medium- or minimum-security prisons, and that stay completely away from maximum-security prisoners. These costly prisoners are shipped back to public prisons, sticking taxpayers with the cost, while the private prisons profits earn off the “easier” prisoners. This is more money out of the average American taxpayer's pocket, while the rich prison business owners make more money. However, there are still people who believe there is nothing wrong with the private prison

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Implications of the Privatised Prison System: A comparison of U.S. Federal and Privatised Prisons Word Count: 2129 The system which the American Federal and privatised prisons are ordered by has been subject to discourse for some time. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, private prisons are vastly different to Federally run prisons as they are owned and operated by companies not affiliated with the American government (Austin and Coventry 5). This prison model has been used by the American government for the supposed economic benefits they generate (Austin and Coventry 5). Furthermore, unlike Federal or state operated prisons, the money earned from the facility goes directly to a third party owner.

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Some families may fall into poverty and need public assistance because a family goes to prison. It costs about $30,000 per year to incarcerate a single inmate, which is significantly higher than what most states report. The federal government also reported paying almost $26,000 per inmate in federal facilities in 2008, and the community corrections center costs were estimated at nearly $24,000 per inmate; however, neither figure includes “social costs.” It amazes that it can cost so much money for someone to be housed in jail or

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The prison-industrial complex is a corrupt political system that consists of overpowered politicians whose sole ambition is exploiting poor, uneducated, and under-privileged Americans to make money. Although, it wasn’t initially the purpose when Rockefeller started the war on drugs, but he started something bigger than he could’ve imagined at that time. The prison system has been proven to be ineffective, and costly waste of resources. However, it probably won’t be abolished due to the cash flow that it brings to some of the largest corporations in the

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The significant economic cost of the US prison system is one of its major consequences. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, the US spends $80 billion per year on corrections, which includes the costs of operating prisons, probation, and parole. The high cost of incarceration can put a strain on government budgets and divert resources away from other critical social programs like education, healthcare, and housing. Furthermore, the economic toll of having a large prison population has an impact on many communities, as prisons frequently become the largest employer in rural areas. Another effect of the US prison system is the impact on prisoners' families.

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