Privatization has always been prevalent amongst the United States. Prison privatization are prisons contracted out by a third party. The concept of private prisons began in the Eighteenth century and have been growing along with the incarceration rate. Throughout the years the United States has been moving toward private prisons. It began with the overcrowding issue in public prisons. However, the debate still lies whether this is benefiting our country or hindering it. Studies have been conducted to show the cost saving techniques used by private facilities are hindering the quality and safety of the prisons. Public sectors are seen to have better rehabilitation programs, educational services, guard training, safety measures, and medical treatment. Government officials have spoken out on this topic showing their concern about how private facilities are effecting the country. For-profit prisons also harm the local economies and mistreat their employees. The benefits of public sectors do not only effect the prisoners but the guards as well. These maltreatments later ripple into the local government therefore effecting a larger population of people. As Americans we need to be aware of the cruelties that private prisons bring because it directly impacts us. For changes to occur individuals need to show concern. These realities show that private prisons are doing more harm than good in our country. By reducing the amount of private prisons the prison system and communities will benefit greatly. This will lead to an extinction of for-profit prisons, which will support the prison system and the economy as well. 

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. America has been contracting out business to private corporations, and private prisons is one of them. Privatization began in 1852 with San Quentin, which is the first for-profit prison in the United States. Then in the 1980s, private prisons took off (Dolovich). It began in 1983, when the Corrections Corporation of America was built. Later in 1987, the GEO Group begins contraction out detention centers and prisons. Even in the early stages of private prisons, there were still questions on the benefit of them. In 1998, the Justice Department investigated a CCA prison on a series of violent acts such as killings, stabbings and escapes. It was concluded that it was because of the inexperienced guards. There are have been many attempts to stop the injustices occurring in private facilities, but they have never succeeded. In 2005, the Governor of Ohio, Ted Strickland, attempted to pass the Private Prison Information Act. If successful, this bill would have held private prisons to comply with the regulation of the Act. There have been multiple lawsuits filed against private prison companies such as the CCA (Pauly). Years of history has shown that for-profit companies have had harmful occurrences. We need to able to learn from the mistakes that have been in history, so the future can be better. Politicians and government officials are working toward the goal of phasing out private prisons. 

California, Arizona, and Texas have the most private prisons in the US. 

Private prisons are a growing industry within the US. The United States Bureau of Prisons began contracting with business to house the prisoners. Since 2013 the United States has experienced a decline in prison population. The Deputy Attorney General, Sally Yates, wrote a memo to the Director of the Bureau of Prisons suggesting him to end the contract with prison businesses. The Bureau renews contracts with businesses every year. Yates wrote that the Director should not renew the contracts to either decline or end the use of private prisons. Yates addressed that the need for private prisons was real, but she stresses how they have decreased and they are no longer necessary. The Bureau notices that the need has declined because it has declined to renew a contract for about 1,200 beds. This decision was made before Yates sent the memo. If the Bureau continuous this process of declining contracts, 50% of the private prison population will decrease by May 2017 (Yates). This article was written in 2016, which means about half of the private prison population will be reduced in about a year. If the Bureau continues this process throughout the years, then the private system will significantly decrease if not end. 

As the fastest growing prison rate in the world, currently about seven percent of state prisoners and seventeen percent of federal prisoners are held in private prisons. When discussing changing the private prison system, people argue that since the private prisons effect a small amount of prisoners there is no need to change it. However, the small percentage represents thousands of prisoners. Just because a problem effects a small percentage of people does not mean it should be ignored. People also believe that those in prison deserve the treatment they get, so why make the prison system better. We cannot know the situation of every inmate in prison, so it is immoral to think that. Many offenders are low level criminals or unjustly imprisoned. Every day children in school chant, “One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and just for all” during the Pledge of Allegiance. As one nation, we should care not only about the majority but the minority as well. By fixing this issue with private prisons, the prison system as a whole will be stronger and more efficient. 

When most people think about the private prison debate, they associate with criminals. Private facilities negatively impact the employees and a local community. For profit prisons affect a community because they do not offer the same benefits that public facilities offer. Public prisons have higher salaries for the workers. Since prisons offer many jobs to the surrounding the community, higher salaries reflect positively on the local economy. Prison employees should also be paid an appropriate amount for the work they do because it is physically and emotionally strenuous. Many private prison guards report to becoming numb to the violence the witness. Reporter, Shane Bauer, experienced these emotions after a short time of being an undercover guard. He shares, “It’s scary how quickly I can change. I don’t like the person I am in there…There is no way not to feel beaten down and exhausted and frustrated and angry” (Bauer). Bauer felt defeated after four months at a private facility. Imagine the toll private prisons take on guards who have worked there for years. Private sectors are also more dangerous because of the cost cutting measures they take. These men and women work in dangerous and stressful situations, and they should receive appropriate treatment. 

There have been numerous incidents that have occurred in private prisons. Shane Bauer shares his experiences from working at the Winn Correctional Center, which is a private prison run by the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). CCA is the second-largest private prison company in the United States. CCA, GEO, MTC are private companies that operate more than 130 facilities in the nation. CCA control more than 60 of those facilities, collectively housing at least 66,000 inmates. In only 12 days of his training, there was an escape by an inmate that was not even noticed till a couple hours after the escape. Escapes like these are very common in private prisons because there are not enough guards for the amount of prisoners. This prison did have guard towers, but four years ago the guards were replaced by cameras to save money. If guards would have been in those towers instead of cameras, it would have been more likely to have been prevented. By cutting costs, private facilities lack in medical and emotional care, proper guard training, improper wages for guards, and low security. At Winn, doctors are not qualified and most of them have been hired even after misconduct. There are no full time psychiatrists just one full time social worker. These conditions not only effect the prisoners but the guards as well. At Winn, guards are not trained to intervene in physical altercations. As a result, violence is rampant throughout the prison. Guards become desensitized to violence, which also can cause them emotional trauma. They are not even properly paid for the work they do. Winn guards are paid $9 an hour, whereas the starting rate at state prisons is $12.50 (Bauer). Many argue that prisoners deserve the treatment they get. However, the conditions of private prisons deny basic human needs to prisoners, and they treat their employees unfittingly as well. It is unjust for a company to continue to profit while others are suffering. 

The numerous amount of cost cutting efforts effect the medical and psychological care of the prisoners. Prisons are obligated to provide proper medical and emotional treatment that an inmate may require. Since private prisons are businesses, they try to reduce any expenses they can. The media has addressed stories of medical neglect from private prisons. The newspaper, The Nation, addressed numerous records of prisons failing to provide for inmates with cancer, mental illness, HIV, tuberculosis etc (Wright). These illnesses are very treatable, but because of the cost cutting measures they are left untreated. Shane Bauer witnessed medical neglect at Winn Correctional Center as well. At his time there, he met a prisoner that lost both his legs and fingers to gangrene that was left untreated by the doctors. His gangrene was very treatable but because of the cost cutting measures this man is left handicapped for life. (Bauer). Medical neglect is just one of the many things that is prevalent in private prisons.  

Violence is rampant in private prisons. Guards are not suitably trained to deal with violent situations. As a result, prisoners are left without proper supervision. This is dangerous to the prisoners, the guards and the community because this can lead to escapes. Many inmates suffer from these violent conditions. An inmate from a GEO run prison, was stabbed thirty times while the guards watched and did not intervene. The inmate, William John Mahoney, refused sexual advances from another inmate and was thereby punished for it. A guard tried to help, but he was threatened to leave by the inmate with the weapon. In 2012, sixteen guards were taken hostage and one was killed in a prison riot at a CCA run prison (Pauly). Misfortunes like these are just some of the few that have occurred in private prisons. These situations could have been prevented if the guards were properly trained or if the prison was not understaffed. The prison saved money, but no one saved the inmate or the guard. The effect of private facilities is very widespread. 

Private prisons are commonly associated with the concept that it will reduce taxes and other costs for citizens. However, this is seen to be more untrue. Taxpayers are still taxed the same amount if not more when it comes to private facilities. Private prisons require states to pay inmate per diem fees and annual ownership fees. Private facilities also require states to provide a sufficient amount of prisoners to fill the prison. This clause urges police officers to make arrests and judges to incarcerate people, so the prison quota is met. Companies are literally profiting off incarceration. These conditions are all under the Contracts Clause, which is in the American Constitution (Whiting 340-341). States cannot interfere or alter these contracts because it is unconstitutional under this clause to interfere with private contracts. The goal for states should be to reduce crime rates therefore reducing prison rates. With private prisons setting high occupancy rates in the contracts, and states not being able to interfere with under the Contracts Clause, prison rates will not decrease. This is inhibiting America to move into a better future and safer future. 

There are many different outlooks on the privatization debate. One alternate perspective is a “Fix it, don’t end it” policy. This policy suggests why not fix private prisons instead of just ending it completely. This perspective was introduced by a writer of The Washington Post, Sasha Volokh (Volokh). He proposes that ending private prisons would be more strenuous on the government than just fixing it. Government officials have been attempting to fix the private prison system for years now, but there have not been any significant results. Bills have been proposed to mend and regulate the problems within for-profit facilities, but they have not been passed. Attempts in fixing it has failed, so logically the next step is to end it. The end of private prison does not have to be an abrupt change. Understandably, changes like these require time. By ending a few contracts at a time, the end to private prisons will be easier. The economy and the prison system will adjust.

Prison companies tend to stay away from the term “for-profit prison” when describing their facilities. However, it is revealed that prison industries’ priorities lie with saving money and making money. Private prisons are first and foremost prisons. It is not morally just for companies to profit off incarceration. The prison rates in America will continue to grow because the incentive lies with imprisoning individuals. Quotas and contracts are in place so that states fill the prisons to near capacity. This encourages the police to arrest more individuals. In the 1990s the sheriffs received cash incentives for the more arrests they had (Seeker Daily). The Contracts Clause does not allow the government to interfere with private contracts, so private facilities continue to profit. For-profit prison is an accurate name for private prisons because they gain profit from facilities that should not be profited off of.

Since private prison have started, they have not shown the benefits that they were thought to bring. They began with the idea that they would save money for the government and for the taxpayers. Taxpayers still have to pay the same amount in taxes if not more. Even though the cost differences between private and public sectors cannot be accurately determined, the amount of money that private sectors could save is not worth the quality of the facility. Private prisons lack in proper medical and emotional care for the inmates. Even the employees are not treated well. Private prisons are for-profit businesses, so their cost cutting measures make the faculties dangerous for the prisoners, the guards and the public. This problem cannot be ignored because it will get worse. Imagine the guard that was stabbed in the prison was your friend. Imagine being one of the inmates placed in one of these facilities. The ideas are scary to picture. By supporting the end of private prisons, we are bettering the lives of many people. With public prisons around, the incarceration rates will decrease because there is no longer an incentive to imprison people for money. America does not have to have the highest incarceration rate in the world. As an American, I do not want to be known as the country with the highest incarceration rate. There are other things to be better known for. Phasing out private prisons allows the United States to continue to thrive.
