Privatization Of Private Prisons

Between 1978 and 2014 the United States’ incarcerated population increased by 408%. As a result, the American correctional system has struggled to meet the demands for inmate housing. In response to rising inmate populations, America has long used privatization of prisons to account for the increasing overcapacity. Proponents of privatization claim that private prisons are cheaper without losing the quality of services in comparison to state run facilities. However, despite the establishment of the first private correctional institute in 1984, private prisons have yet to show credible evidence of said claims. Currently, no proof exists that supports the premise that privatized prisons save taxpayer money. Prisons continue to exceed capacity

In private prisons, 90% of the inmates are of low to medium risk as opposed to the public prisons’ rates of 69%. On top of that, because of the benefits of contract provisions, private prisons may not accept so-called “expensive inmates” such as inmates with chronic illnesses like HIV or Hepatitis, and if permitted, stipulations exist so that the state must pay the cost of treatment. Moreover, some prisons cap medical cost expenses so once an inmate exceeds a specified amount, again, the state must pay. Additionally, many private prisons do not accept inmates with long sentences or life-terms which is a further expense that the public is liable to pay for, as the majority of private vendor contracts involve bed capacity provisions . These bed capacity provisions, the average being 90%, mean that the public sector must pay for the specified number of bed capacity regardless of whether the beds are in use, meaning that the state and taxpayers pay for nonexistent inmates. Essentially, private prisons evade high costs by leaving costly inmates to the state. Regardless, some supporters, such as Seiter, may not view lack of financial savings as a failure if the prisons do not cost more money than the public sectors, but when the main premise is and has always been to save taxpayer money a lack thereof is a failure. Time and time again private prisons have shown that they do not save money or benefit society or the imprisoned. Recidivism rates are either the same or higher in private prisons. Costs are either the same or higher in private prisons, despite attempts to avoid costly inmates. Though incarceration has slowly been decreasing, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, no evidence indicates that private prisons are a contributing