Obama administration to phase out some private prison use

[webfact]

Obama administration to phase out some private prison use

By EILEEN SULLIVAN

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration announced Thursday it will phase out its use of some private prisons, affecting thousands of federal inmates and immediately sending shares of the two publicly traded prison operators plunging.

 

In a memo to the Bureau of Prisons, Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates told it to start reducing "and ultimately ending" the Justice Department's use of private prisons. The announcement follows a recent Justice Department audit that found that the private facilities have more safety and security problems than government-run ones.

 

The Obama administration says the declining federal prison population justifies the decision to eventually close privately run prisons. The federal prison population — now at 193,299 — has been dropping due to changes in federal sentencing policies over the past three years. Private prisons hold about 22,100 of these inmates, or 12 percent of the total population, the Justice Department said.

 

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

 

"Private prisons served an important role during a difficult period, but time has shown that they compare poorly to our own Bureau facilities," Yates wrote in a memo to the acting director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. 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. She did not specify a timeline for when all federal inmates would be in government-owned facilities.

 

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton says the country should move away from using private facilities to house inmates. The Clinton campaign has said it no longer accepts contributions from private prison interests, and if it receives such a contribution, it will donate that money to charity. The private prison industry is a major contributor to Republican political campaigns, particularly in recent years. GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump has said he supports the use of private prisons.

 

The private prisons on the chopping block are operated by three private companies — Corrections Corporation of America, GEO Group Inc., and Management and Training Corporation. After the announcement Thursday, Corrections Corp. stock dropped $13.22, or 48.6 percent, to $14 and Geo Group tumbled $13.80, or 42.7 percent, to $18.49. Both companies get about half their revenue from the federal government.

 

The Management and Training Corporation and Corrections Corporation of American issued statements saying they were disappointed with the decision. They also said they disagreed with the conclusions of an inspector general's audit that preceded the Justice Department's decision.

 

The federal government started to rely on private prisons in the late 1990s due to overcrowding. Many of the federal prison inmates held in private facilities are foreign nationals who are being held on immigration offenses, the audit said.

 

Immigration and human rights advocates have long-complained about the conditions in privately-run prisons. Amnesty International, on Thursday, urged states to follow suit. Some states, such as Kentucky, already have.

 

Before Thursday, the Bureau of Prisons had been working toward the goal of phasing out private prison contracts when, three weeks ago, it did not renew a contract for 1,200 beds, Yates said. Thursday's policy change also included direction to change a current solicitation for a private prison contract, cutting the maximum number of beds required by 66 percent.

___

Associated Press writers Josh Lederman and Alicia A. Caldwell and Charles Sheehan in New York contributed to this report.

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-08-19

[williamgeorgeallen]

2.2 million people incarcerated in america. going to cost alot to keep them in government run jails. interesting turn in policy. pretty sure trump will be all for privatization if he wins. maybe he can even fund them with some sort of reality TV show about how violent they are.

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

In no way should the prison system be a money making machine for big business.

 

There are countless documentaries out there showing the abuse that this has created.

 

2.2 millions incarcerated? That is obscene.

[mrwebb8825]

I don't see any reason why these private prisons can't also have some sort of manufacturing plant like a bottling plant or packing plant so the prisoners can contribute to the economy while serving their sentences for committing crimes. Not violent offenders but drug users, white collar criminals, etc. Give them a chance to develop legal job skills for when they are released.

[ilostmypassword]

5 minutes ago, mrwebb8825 said:

I don't see any reason why these private prisons can't also have some sort of manufacturing plant like a bottling plant or packing plant so the prisoners can contribute to the economy while serving their sentences for committing crimes. Not violent offenders but drug users, white collar criminals, etc. Give them a chance to develop legal job skills for when they are released.

Actually, there are such programs. Of course, the prisoners aren't even paid minimum wage.

[mrwebb8825]

43 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

Actually, there are such programs. Of course, the prisoners aren't even paid minimum wage.

No reason to pay them anything, they already get free room and board with free laundry, TV, wifi, etc. - give them 1 day off their sentence for each week worked.

[ilostmypassword]

37 minutes ago, mrwebb8825 said:

No reason to pay them anything, they already get free room and board with free laundry, TV, wifi, etc. - give them 1 day off their sentence for each week worked.

I'm guessing you're not a Trump supporter. Because a person who supports Trump would never be behind the idea of letting employers save money by using what is essentially slave labor to do hardworking Americans out of a job. 

[mrwebb8825]

On 8/23/2016 at 4:23 PM, ilostmypassword said:

I'm guessing you're not a Trump supporter. Because a person who supports Trump would never be behind the idea of letting employers save money by using what is essentially slave labor to do hardworking Americans out of a job. 

not sure where you get that idea. It would quite the opposite affect. Labor would be prisoners while management would be civilians. Then, more private prisons opening with more manufacturing plants would mean more civilians getting work as well as reducing overcrowding.

Kind of the philosophy of Trump; more jobs, using more American workers, making goods in America with American materials.

[halloween]

1 hour ago, mrwebb8825 said:

not sure where you get that idea. It would quite the opposite affect. Labor would be prisoners while management would be civilians. Then, more private prisons opening with more manufacturing plants would mean more civilians getting work as well as reducing overcrowding.

Kind of the philosophy of Trump; more jobs, using more American workers, making goods in America with American materials.

You think that because management are civilians then the slave labour isn't competing with the free work force? If there is demand for the prison's product and they stop making it, somebody else will.

[mrwebb8825]

17 hours ago, halloween said:

You think that because management are civilians then the slave labour isn't competing with the free work force? If there is demand for the prison's product and they stop making it, somebody else will.

Look, those prisoners are there anyway and COSTING a fortune in tax dollars to feed, house, give medical treatment to, guard, etc., so then why not put them to work to offset the cost on the taxpayers so their taxes are better spent and/or can go down, as well as providing rehabilitation.

The building of the new private prisons would put contractors and civilian labor to work. The smelting plants, lumber mills, concrete plants, wire makers, etc. will all be employing civilian labor to provide the materials.

 

Honestly, some of you people remind me of the hurricane Katrina survivors complaining there wasn't enough free Pepsi and the wifi was too slow, while complaining the volunteer labor force wasn't building their new free homes fast enough.

[ClutchClark]

On August 19, 2016 at 10:48 AM, ALLSEEINGEYE said:

In no way should the prison system be a money making machine for big business.

 

There are countless documentaries out there showing the abuse that this has created.

 

2.2 millions incarcerated? That is obscene.

 

I couldn't agree more. 

 

There is certainly a large number of Americans who think they are above the law. 

 

As a law-abiding citizen and having raised generations of law-abiding citizen children, it infuriates me that so many Americans think nothing of the Laws of our Society. 

[ilostmypassword]

And the richer and or paler they are, the less likely they are to suffer the consequences of breaking it.

[ClutchClark]

I certsinly would not want to wind up ina privately run prison. I read a recent report on Ramen noodles replacing cigs as the new money. 

 

Apparently, these corporate run institutions have determined the exact caloric requirements of their inmates and adjusted the serving sizes down so that prisoners are frequently under-nourished. 

 

An extra pack of ramen noodles is like gold.

 

I never much trust privatization of services and utilities. 

 

 

[mrwebb8825]

Just now, ClutchClark said:

I certsinly would not want to wind up ina privately run prison. I read a recent report on Ramen noodles replacing cigs as the new money. 

 

Apparently, these corporate run institutions have determined the exact caloric requirements of their inmates and adjusted the serving sizes down so that prisoners are frequently under-nourished. 

 

An extra pack of ramen noodles is like gold.

 

I never much trust privatization of services and utilities. 

 

 

Prisons in America are like Shangri La compared to most of the rest of the world AND the prisoners are NOT there on vacation. Don't want to be treated like a piece of crap? Don't break the freaking law!

Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.