US Justice Department to Phase Out Use of Private Prisons

In the memo, Yates writes that while private prisons served an important role previously, they compare poorly to federally-owned facilities.

A spokesperson for the Marshals referred questions to the Justice Department, an official of which noted a memo written by Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates directing the change was addressed only to the Bureau of Prisons.

The Justice Department does not have jurisdiction over private state prisons, where more than 91,000 inmates were held in 2014, or over immigration detention facilities run separately by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Private prison companies claim that the facilities represent a cost-effective solution to America’s prison overcrowding problem, but Yates disputed that point..

Fathi, of the ACLU, said because certain states and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have such a large proportion of their inmates in private facilities, it might be hard for them to quickly replicate the Bureau of Prisons plan.

A recent report on deaths in immigration facilities over a two-year period found that a disproportionate number occurred in those operated by private prison companies. As private prison contracts come to an end, the bureau is not to renew the contract or it should at least “substantially” reduce its scope, Yates wrote. But the federal prisoner population has begun to decline, thanks in part to “several significant efforts to recalibrate federal sentencing policy”, and private prisons “simply do not provide the same level of correctional services, programs, and resources” as government-run institutions, Yates said in her memo. The private prison lobby is a major contributor to the Republican campaigns. Both get about half their revenue from the federal government.

“All of the contracts for the vehicle prisons are up for new bids this next year, and from what we read today it doesn’t look like they will be renewed”, said Takei of the ACLU.

“I’ve never believed private prisons saved any money”, McFadyen said Thursday.

Prison-reform advocates hailed the new policy.

“Today is an historic day”, said Bob Libal, executive director of Grassroots Leadership, an anti-private prison organization based in Texas.

“For example, the contract prisons confiscated eight times as many contraband cell phones annually on average as the BOP institutions”, the report said.

A spokeswoman for the Justice Department didn’t immediately return emails seeking comment on Friday. She added that private prisons also provide fewer rehabilitative services that are “essential to reducing recidivism and improving public safety”. The report identified three corporations as running the private prisons used by the government: Corrections Corporation of America, GEO Group and Management and Training Corporation.