Get Rid of Private Prisons
The Denver Post
As Colorado's prison population declines,
we need to ask ourselves if we want our state to continue sending
taxpayer dollars to corporations that profit from the incarceration of
human beings. Today, Coloradans spend $52 per inmate per day on
for-profit prison corporations that are accountable primarily to their
shareholders, not taxpayers.
As the state's inmate population
declines, the state must commit itself to prioritizing use of public
prisons, state workers, and taxpayer accountability over for-profit
prisons. Colorado's corrections policy must emphasize responsibility,
not profitability.
In the past two years, the Colorado Department
of Corrections has taken state beds offline and outright closed
state-run facilities. And while there have been some closures of
for-profit facilities, state appropriations for Corrections Corporation
of America's for-profit prisons rose in the 2012-13 fiscal year by
nearly $4 million. For the 2013-14 fiscal year, the department is now
requesting an additional $1.3 million increase in payments to our
for-profit prison providers.
For-profit prisons are a
multibillion-dollar industry. The two largest for-profit prison
corporations (CCA and GEO Group) had over $2.9 billion in revenue in
2010. Industry profits have grown exponentially since 1984, when the
first for-profit prison in the country opened. But with their bottom
line threatened, for-profit prisons are seeking ways to keep making
money, including inmate bed guarantees and buying state facilities. They
also pay workers as little as possible, so little that many private
prison workers qualify for public assistance.
The industry's
interests are the same as any other for-profit industry or corporation:
maximum profits for shareholders. And while there certainly is nothing
wrong with the pursuit of profit, there is a huge question mark over
whether or not that motive belongs in our correctional system. The more
prisoners, the better for them. The for-profit prison model is marketed
to policymakers and taxpayers as a way to save the state money, but the
daily rate that is paid covers only the most basic costs associated
with inmates. Health care, emergency response (including riot response),
legal liability and oversight of the facilities are still public
obligations.
Taxpayers should be wary of the for-profit prison
industry's instinct to shave costs and find savings anywhere they can,
which in turn puts the public, workers and inmates at risk. A prime
example of this lies in what happened at CCA's Crowley County facility
in 2004. There, during a riot by about 300 inmates, the for-profit staff
was ordered to abandon their posts and stand down until CDOC arrived.
After the state cleaned up the mess, reports later found that
everything that could go wrong did go wrong, costing taxpayers millions.
By contrast, public facilities are safer and better equipped to
respond to the challenges of a 21st century corrections system.
Employees are better compensated through health and retirement benefits
and can envision a long-term career in public safety. At the end of the
day, a public corrections facility is fully accountable to the
taxpayers.
A Prison Utilization Study was recently commissioned
by the state legislature in order to examine how best to handle the
changes in inmate population. While that study will provide policymakers
with brick-and-mortar data, no study will be able to provide us with an
answer to the ethical questions raised by the state's continued
reliance of the for-profit prison industry.
Taxpayers deserve
better, and the first step should be to implement a state-bed-first
policy. As public beds become available, inmates in the private system
should be automatically transferred to public facilities. Colorado must
begin transitioning away from private prisons.
David Pertz is a correctional officer in Delta and secretary
of Colorado WINS. Paul Carlson is pastor of Our Savior's Lutheran Church
in Denver.
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