Essay On Private Prisons

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While private correction companies continue to grow, there has been a strong push to end private prisons in the United States. For-profit incarceration opposers, notably the American Civil Liberties Union and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, argue that private prisons do not actually save money, have less experienced employees, and consistently have worse conditions that public facilities. Whether private prisons actually cut costs or not has been one of the biggest talking points in the for-profit corrections controversy. Caroline Isaacs argues that, since private correctional companies compete for contracts, and therefore offer the lowest prices possible to contractors, but still have to make a profit, they cut costs in other areas of the prison. …show more content…

Ashley Hunt states that when faced with a prison overcrowding crisis, governments need to close look at its corrections system in order “to see why there is overcrowding, and see who can be moved out of prison as a result” (Hunt, n.d., para. 9). This will eliminate the use of private prisons by lessening the amount of people incarcerated (Hunt, n.d.). Awareness about private prisons would also help put an end to private prisons, it is argued. Through personal communication with Warden Sam Cline and Kansas Representative Don Schroeder, it was learned that they had no knowledge of private prisons in the State of Kansas. Warden Sam Cline believes that, though private prison companies have been “lobbying elected officials to encourage them to outsource corrections,” Kansas legislators have “resisted this pitch for decades” (S. Cline, personal communication, November 13, 2015). Don Schroeder stated that “to my knowledge, there are no legally operated private prisons in Kansas” (D. Schroeder, personal communication, November 13, 2015). However, Leavenworth Detention Center (which Don Schroeder confused with United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth) is located in Leavenworth, Kansas and owned and operated by CCA (“City of Lansing Official Website - Our Partners,” n.d.). This, it is contended, simply stresses the need for more awareness and general knowledge about private

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