Did you know that the government isn’t the only entity with the power to legally incarcerate millions of Americans? If not that's ok, most of us likely have a very basic level understanding of imprisonment in America. We know that if you do something wrong, you pay the price, and not much more. Some may not even understand the difference between a public and private prison, which is totally understandable. For those that are unaware, a private prison is very similar to that of a public prison, but is run by a third party that is contracted by the government. Strange right? You would think that only our government has the power to imprison Americans. These prisons are often referred to as “for-profit prisons” due to their goal to gain a lucrative reward for the incarceration of inmates. Although American private prisons currently hold just less than 10% of all prisoners in the country, recent years have seen such institutions come under strong fire for a list of countless criticisms. The goal of this first article, of a multi- part series examining American private prisons, is to cover basic details regarding these institutions, and begin to delve into some of America's most prevalent concerns surrounding the often criticized practice.
Operational Overview
The American Civil Liberties Union is one of the nation's strongest voices of criticism directed at the American private prison industry. The group claims that such prisons admittedly profit from mass incarceration, and that these businesses gain monetary incentive from putting more and more citizens behind bars. Yet just how truthful are these heavy accusations? The fact of the matter is that there is an undeniable and lucrative driven motivation for private prisons to expand their interests through incarceration. While public prisons essentially act as non- profit organizations with a sole purpose of rehabilitation, private prisons are run by large corporations whose main business is making money. Firstly, private prisons in America receive a government stipend, based on many factors but primarily determined by the number of prisoners held in said prison. Essentially, private prisons win government business by cutting costs, and making their services cheaper than that of public institutions. This however is where much of today's concern comes into play. Driven by lowering their costs, prisons may find themselves creating inhumane and even unhealthy living conditions for prisoners, putting money before inmates. In fact, 2016 research from the Justice Department found that private prisons have a 28% higher rate of inmates on inmate assault. One reason for these heightened threats of violence is a decrease in security in comparison to public prisons. Private institutions are known to cut corners, and employees of such prisons earn an average of 5,000 less dollars than those working in public prisons, and receive 58 fewer hours of training. This neglect of adequate staffing also creates a much higher rate of turnover, further destabilizing prisons. Such tactics are used to cut costs, but at what point should a prison consider the safety of their employees and inmates over additional government funding?
Currently the number of people incarcerated in private prisons is rising, leaving many confused and questioning. Are private prisons actually saving America money? Do these prisons threaten the liberties and rights of those incarcerated? What exactly lies at the center of America's multi-billion dollar private prison industry? Throughout this multi-part series we intend on examining all these tough questions and understanding that there lies no easy answer.
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