Obama administration to end use of private prisons

The Obama administration is phasing out its use of some private prisons, affecting thousands of federal inmates and immediately sending shares of the two publicly traded prison operators plunging. The announcement follows a recent Justice Department audit that found that the private facilities have more safety and security problems than government-run ones. This, she said, provided an opportunity to reevaluate the USA government’s relationship with private prisons, which in 2014 alone cost the Bureau $639 million. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) now contracts with 13 privately run facilities, which do not provide the same level of services as BOP facilities, do not save on costs, and do not maintain the same level of safety and security. As of December 2015, private prisons held more than 22,000 prisoners – or about 12 percent of the total federal prison population, according to an inspector general report released earlier this month.

The policy change does not cover private prisons used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which hold up to 34,000 immigrants awaiting deportation.

Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton’s erstwhile Democratic rival, pledged to end the “private, for-profit prison racket” during his campaign.

Deputy attorney general Sally Yates said: “They do not save substantially on costs and … they do not maintain the same level of safety and security”. Most are state inmates, but as of yesterday, 95 were there courtesy of the federal government.

Citing unsafe, ineffective correctional services, the Justice Department plans to stop using private prisons.

In recent seasons, the popular Netflix drama “Orange is the New Black”, has painted an unflattering portrait of a fictional private prison company that aims to increase profits at the expense of prisoners’ conditions and human rights.

Though such private companies don’t profit directly by owning a private prison, as the CCA or the GEO Group do, they receive considerable annual revenues by propping up prisons, thus making them similarly rewarded by America’s system of incarceration, according to Petrella. The Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the country’s largest owner of private prisons, noted in a statement to Business Insider that its Bureau of Prison facilities make up just 7% of its business. Both companies get about half their revenue from the federal government.

The MTC, which operates a state prison in Marana, also issued a statement saying it was disappointed with the decision. The company also said it disagreed with the conclusions of an inspector general’s audit that preceded the Justice Department’s decision. California state Sen. Ricardo Lara, who authored a bill up for consideration in Sacramento that would ban state governments from contracting with the corporations, was quick to voice his opinion Thursday.