As I have previously mentioned in my blog, private prisons have appeared in our criminal justice system to help combat overcrowding. Private prisons are prisons that are owned by private cooperation’s instead of owned by our federal government. The government decided to turn to private prisons to also help save money. Private prisons receive a certain dollar amount for each inmate every year. With this dollar amount the private prisons are responsible for housing, feeding, and overall taking care of inmates. While this idea sounds great, problems have arisen. Private prisons have begun looking at the inmates as dollar amounts rather than human beings. They have used inmates to gain a profit instead of focusing on their basic human rights. Many of these prisons have cut corners on the supplies they purchase for these inmates to higher their annual income. Replacing their food with cheap substituted options, taking in more inmates then their capacity states, decreasing their medical options, removing educational classes, and replacing their beds and clothing with cheaper options isn’t uncommon. In the eyes of the cooperation, the more inmates they can house at a cheaper cost results in bigger profit margins each year. While inmates are struggling in prison, cooperation leaders are sitting back and watching the cash stack up.
I find this type of prison to be disturbing. I believe it is the governments job to review the basic federal regulations currently in place for private prisons. By implementing mandatory programs and supplies these prisons must provide, solutions will be made. The cooperation’s will still be earning money and our tax payers will save around $144 Million a year. Not only is the money a huge part of private prisons, but the fight to help reduce overcrowding will be continued.
Please feel free to comment your opinions on private prisons below!