Transcribed

Profiting Off Prisoners

PROFITING OFF PRISONERS With some politicians arguing private prisons help states save money and other politicians arguing the system is rife with corruption, there can be no debate about this basic fact: The private prison system has surged in size since the U.S. began experimenting with private prisons in 1984. Between 1990 and 2009, the inmate population housed in private prisons grew by more than 1,600 percent. 1,598,780 128,195 Total number of state and Number of state and federal prisoners I housed in private ! facilities federal prisoners 37% Increase in private prison population between 2002 and 2009 FOLLOWING THE MONEY >$3.4 BILLION Combined revenue in 2011 for two largest private prison corporations; that's more than the GDP of Greenland and the U.S. Virgin Islands combined. CCX CORRECTIONS $1.74 BILLION CORPORATION OF AMERICA CORRECTIONS CORPORATION OF AMERICA s1.61 BILLIDN GEO GROUP The GEO Group, Inc $5.7 MILLION $3.7 MILLION Executive compensation for CCA CEO George C. Zoley in 2011 Executive compensation for GEO Group CEO Damon T. Hininger in 2011 SIDE BY SIDE Take a closer look at the two largest private prison companies in the U.S. CORRECTIONS CORPORATION OF AMERICA GEO GROUP FACILITIES: FACILITIES: 66 56 BEDS: BEDS: A90,000 161,000 WHERE SOME OF THE FACILITIES ARE: WHERE SOME OF THE FACILITIES ARE: Idaho:1 Montana: 1 Minnesota: 1 New Jersey: 1 Washington: 1 New York:1 Kentucky: 3 Nevada:1 Kansas:1 Indiana:1 Ohio: 2 Indiana: 2 Pennsylvania:1 Arizona: 6 Colorado: 4 Tennessee: 7 D.C.:1 Virginia: 1 Colorado: 2 California: 4 Oklahoma: 4 Georgia: 6 California: 4 Oklahoma:1 North Carolina: 1 New Mexico: 3 Mississippi: 2 A Georgia: 4 Arizona: 3 New Mexico: 3 Texas: 11 Louisiana: 1 Florida: 5 Texas: 13 Louisiana: 2 Florida: 3 CLEAN RECORD? SAFETY Both companies have faced allegations of unsafe conditions at some of their facilities. INMATE-ON-INMATE ASSAULTS IN IDAHO 2007-2008 Both facilities held about the same number of inmates, 132 42 1,500 CCA-RUN IDAHO CORRECTIONAL STATE-RUN IDAHO STATE CENTER CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION $6.5 MILLION $1.1 MILLION Damages awarded in wrongful death lawsuit against GEO Group in beating death of an inmate by his cellmate at a GEO Group-run prison in Oklahoma New Mexico Department of Corrections fine against GEO Group for inadequate staffing RACE In addition to safety-related accusations, private prisons also face criticism over racial concerns. According to one analysis, minorities are over-represented in private prisons compared to government-run facilities. PERCENTAGE OF INMATES OF COLOR CALIFORNIA TEXAS ARIZONA 89% 75% 71% 66% 65% 60% Private Public Private Public Private Public IMMIGRATION STATUS Immigration detainees now number about 400,000 a year, and about l in 2 are held in private prisons. IMMIGRATION DETAINEES HELD IN PRIVATE PRISONS 50% TODAY 25% 2003 457% Increase in immigration detention since 1994 BOON TO LOCAL ECONOMIES? Despite claims that state budgets can be bolstered by turning to private prisons, studies in several states have found just the opposite. And in the case of Hardin, Montana, the promise of a new private prison never panned out, wasting the town millions. ENFEE NEATEN NAY $27 MILLION 67 Bonds issued by the town to fund the project People offered jobs at facility that never opened $8,000 $10,000 Cost to fix leaky pipes in new building Monthly gas bills at empty facility SOURCES http://www.huffingtonpost.com - http://www.policymic.com · http://www.cca.com · http://www.geogroup.com http://www.sec.go • http://www.propublica.org · http://www.bjs.gov http://www.aclu.org TOPCRIMINALJUSTICEDEGREES.ORG

Profiting Off Prisoners

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The prison system seems full of mystery. Not many people understand the workings behind the scenes, such as the difference between private and public prisons, and the people that profit from them. ww... w.topcriminaljusticedegrees.com has created an infographic entitled “Profiting Off Prisoners” that details the financial and static numbers behind the private prison system. The United States began toying with the idea of private prisons back in 1984. From 1990 to 2009, the inmate population housed in private prisons increased more than 1,600%. The two largest private prison companies, the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), and the GEO Group, Inc., have generated over 3.4 billion dollars. This is more than the GDP of Greenland and the Virgin Islands combined. The CEO of the GEO Group, Inc., Damon T. Hininger, netted 3.7 million in 2011 as his executive compensation, and CCA CEO George C. Zaloey made 5.7 million in 2011. The CCA has 66 facilities with 90,000 beds, and the GEO group has 56 facilities with 61,000 beds. Both companies have faced legal battles as well. The GEO Group, Inc. has been fined over 7.6 million dollars for wrongful death suits and fines involving staffing problems. Private run facilities also report a higher instance of violence-but it doesn’t stop there. Private run facilities also face criticism over racial concerns. Private facilities boast a higher number of minority inmates than state-run facilities. Private run facilities have also seen a 25% increase in the number of immigration detainees since 2003, and a 457% increase since 1994. Private prisons claim they can boost local economies and state budgets, however, many of these dreams turn to nightmares. Once such case, in Hardin, Montana, cost their town millions. $27 million in bonds was issued for the construction of the prison, with a promise of 67 jobs. When the prison project was completed, and then unfulfilled contracts left it abandoned, the town was left to spend $8,000 to fix leaky pipes in a new building, and fork out $10,000 every month for the gas bill at a facility that remained empty. Feel free to comment, share, and like this infographic entitled “Profiting Off Prisoners” from www.topcriminaljusticedegrees.com.

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