In 1970-2005, the United States prison has grew over 700%. The rate of growth has outpaced population growth, and crime rate. Compared to the world, 25% of the prison population is made up of Americans. America has the highest rate in the world for youth incarceration. 130,000 Juveniles are detained in the American prison system, and every day 70,000 juveniles are detained. The root case of such high incarceration rates are due to the private prison corporation.
In 2010, the two biggest Private Corporation, CCA and GEO group, made 3 billion in revue. The corporations gave out 3 million dollars every years for compensation packages to the top executives. Private prison corporations were created to help reduce the overcrowding in state prisons.
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The private corporations do not care, and maybe they never will, for the inmates they are forcing into their facility. The use of private prisons are not the saving grace the government expected it to be; in fact it may be the devil itself. Private prisons are more relaxed with their safety and health guidelines. As a result, the inmates suffer the consequences of neglect. Private prisons are known to cut corners, and when forced to change they retaliate. The CCA Corporation refused to make safety adjustment after one of the inmates were brutally killed. Instead of meeting qualification, the CCA shut down their prison and moved out of the state. A government ran facility would have been forced to meet the safety qualification, and ensure the guidelines were maintained at all time. The corporations are able to abuse their power, and are not afraid of the consequences. Corporations spend thousands of dollars in election, and are harder to impact because they are in everyone’s pocket. This type of monopoly, in the prison system, can promote injustice and corruption. In the end it’s the inmates that lose time and time again. The government should focus its resources on the corporations, and curbing the amount of people being incarcerated for victim less