Saturday, February 14, 2009
Private Prisons Hit Bottom
Part of the incarceration boom of the past twenty years has been fueled by the industry that has grown up around the prison industry. In fact, many jurisdictions (including our county) have turned their jails or prisons over to private contractors;in other places, private companies have built prisons and jails from the ground up and charge local jurisdictions per prisoner housed.
There have been some serious problems with the privatization of incarceration (along with some benefits). Most recently, two judges in Pennsylvania are being charged with taking payments for sending kids to a juvenile facility run by a private concern. (story here).
Of the many stories about the law I have read, this is one of the most disturbing.
There have been some serious problems with the privatization of incarceration (along with some benefits). Most recently, two judges in Pennsylvania are being charged with taking payments for sending kids to a juvenile facility run by a private concern. (story here).
Of the many stories about the law I have read, this is one of the most disturbing.
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WK-
On the one hand, it does seem odd that a profit can be made from the incarceration of individuals, and done so at the expense of the taxpayers. On the other hand, it doesn't seem strange to me because it's just another government function that can, in most cases, be done more cost-effectively and efficiently by a specialized private sector business than by the bloated, inefficient bureaucracy of the state/federal government. From an economic perspective, it's no different than outsourcing your trash pickup.
That being said, one of the reasons government exists is to provide services when the free market fails. The question is really: can the free market ever succeed when incarceration is the game?
On the one hand, it does seem odd that a profit can be made from the incarceration of individuals, and done so at the expense of the taxpayers. On the other hand, it doesn't seem strange to me because it's just another government function that can, in most cases, be done more cost-effectively and efficiently by a specialized private sector business than by the bloated, inefficient bureaucracy of the state/federal government. From an economic perspective, it's no different than outsourcing your trash pickup.
That being said, one of the reasons government exists is to provide services when the free market fails. The question is really: can the free market ever succeed when incarceration is the game?
When you make putting people in jail an industry...
The law tends to reflect the conditions necessary to put people in jail! And here, by the law, I mean not only the blackletter law on the books (mandatory minimums, anyone?) but also the actions of members of the criminal justice system: cops, lawyers, and judges. In a society that we openly acknowledge as driven by profit, where the acquisition of lots of currency is synonymous with "success," where we all really do deep-down believe that money is power, why are we surprised when money is used to buy officials?
This happens all the time at the legislative and administrative level (and even at the judicial level in Texas) and we call it "lobbying" or "campaign contributions." When industries do it in Washington or Austin or wherever, we just impotently shake our fist at "special interest groups" and go back to wondering if our Senator is having trysts in the airport bathroom.
Privatization is a terrible idea in almost every single instance, because when you take something that ought to be about communal good and make it instead about profit, well, you set up a whole new set of abuses that aren't directly answerable to the people via the vote, but instead answerable to the dollar. What are you going to do, boycott prisons? Blacklist prison companies until a virtuous one shows up?
End privatization.
The law tends to reflect the conditions necessary to put people in jail! And here, by the law, I mean not only the blackletter law on the books (mandatory minimums, anyone?) but also the actions of members of the criminal justice system: cops, lawyers, and judges. In a society that we openly acknowledge as driven by profit, where the acquisition of lots of currency is synonymous with "success," where we all really do deep-down believe that money is power, why are we surprised when money is used to buy officials?
This happens all the time at the legislative and administrative level (and even at the judicial level in Texas) and we call it "lobbying" or "campaign contributions." When industries do it in Washington or Austin or wherever, we just impotently shake our fist at "special interest groups" and go back to wondering if our Senator is having trysts in the airport bathroom.
Privatization is a terrible idea in almost every single instance, because when you take something that ought to be about communal good and make it instead about profit, well, you set up a whole new set of abuses that aren't directly answerable to the people via the vote, but instead answerable to the dollar. What are you going to do, boycott prisons? Blacklist prison companies until a virtuous one shows up?
End privatization.
I suspect if they looked at more of these prisons they would find more monetary corruption. Probably not limited to the outsourced prisons ~ think Blackwater and the privatized military in Iraq and around the world. There is more, no doubt.
So what makes these private prisons better? PROFIT for someone other than the general tax paying public and the kids that are incarcerated.
These past 16 years have made me so cynical about the US and humanity in general. I think need some time in a padded room somewhere so I can just be happy again.
So what makes these private prisons better? PROFIT for someone other than the general tax paying public and the kids that are incarcerated.
These past 16 years have made me so cynical about the US and humanity in general. I think need some time in a padded room somewhere so I can just be happy again.
Well, the other really depressing thing in that story was that the county had only ONE public defender for 1200 juveniles.
Yes, it seems like the motivations would be completely different depending on who runs the prison: the state or local government would want fewer inmates so it could spend less money on prisons. The private sector would want more inmates because it's making money on more prisoners.
That's a huge difference in its potential effect on who gets sent to jail and how many people get sent to jail--and its effect on sentencing. It's the tail wagging the dog, it seems to me.
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Yes, it seems like the motivations would be completely different depending on who runs the prison: the state or local government would want fewer inmates so it could spend less money on prisons. The private sector would want more inmates because it's making money on more prisoners.
That's a huge difference in its potential effect on who gets sent to jail and how many people get sent to jail--and its effect on sentencing. It's the tail wagging the dog, it seems to me.
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: 9:53 PM
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