Opinion

Political: Privatization of Prisons

Shardul Krishnakumar and Lara Cakir
June 5, 2023

Two writers argue the necessity of privatizing prisons. One argues for the merits of prison privatization from an economic perspective, while the other argues for the drawbacks of making federal prisons private.

Pursuing Privatization

People are often quick to shut down the idea of private prisons. They call them “profit-making schemes,” “hotbeds for danger,” or “corrupt enterprises.” Such assumptions are indicative of a lack of understanding about the benefits that come with private prisons. The fact is that prisons become harder to run every day, and more prisoners continue to filter into correctional systems. There needs to be a way to deal with this; the private sector is the solution, since prison privatization actively reduces the burden upon the government and has a positive impact on the prisoners themselves as well as on the surrounding community.

All across the nation, the amount of prisoners coming in outnumbers the shrinking capacity of prisons, with many currently standing at over 100% capacity. As Emily Widra–an employee at the Prison Policy Initiative–outlined, overpopulation is “correlated with increased violence, lack of adequate health care, limited programming and educational opportunities, and reduced visitation.” The issue of overcrowding will only get worse if no alternatives–such as private prisons–are put forth. What happens when there is not enough food, water, or space? What if prisoners fall sick because of the unsafe and unsanitary environment? Overcrowding threatens the safety that a correctional facility is supposed to provide to those involved with it, inmates and staff alike. Lower prisoner populations mean less issues and more benefits; hence, there will be less violence and financial difficulties, and more access to educational opportunities and quality health care. There is no reason to allow prisons to fester in their current state. No one wins: not the prisoners, not the staff, and not the government. Private prisons can alleviate the burdens of its overpopulated and underfunded public counterparts. Taking these prisoners from overcrowded government prisons to private facilities is the best solution to the problem, as it would allow for more prisoners to receive the attention and resources required to meet their needs; there is simply no room for this at a public prison.

While they do help inmates pay their penance, private prisons also serve as places where inmates can find themselves again and become reacquainted with society. According to the Brennan Center, a private prison in New Zealand, men are made to cook their own meals, schedule their own medical and family appointments, do their laundry, and keep a resume to apply for jobs within the facility. The true benefit in private prisons lies in the fact that they encourage inmates to explore responsibility and learn to be accountable for their actions. These notions can go a long way to reintegrating prisoners to be able to function in the real world, thus minimizing the likelihood of a prisoner committing another crime after they are released. Governmental public prisons often will not have the budget for any such initiatives. Little attention is given to these inmates, and that simply does nothing to uphold justice beyond the time that is spent at a correctional facility. Giving prisoners a sense of responsibility keeps them busy and productive, helping them adjust in order to become a contributing member of society.

Private prisons serve as a way to give back to the community by providing more jobs in areas like food preparation, medical care, and protection of the facility. Hundreds of jobs are needed at a private prison to maintain all of the functions they provide–such as reintegration to society endeavors as mentioned in the above paragraph–that public prisons do not, and people can use these jobs to earn a stable income and provide for their families. This in turn fuels the economy, which stands to benefit from private prisons. According to Vittana, the private prison economy in the US results in an economic impact of around $80 billion each year. The economic opportunities provided by private prisons are vast, and it is time that society takes advantage of them by supporting private facilities. At the same time, one of the biggest concerns with private prisons is the fact that they can easily take advantage of their prisoners and employees for corporate gain. Less pay, understaffed prisons, greater use of force, increased discovery of contraband, and increased violence have all admittedly been present in various private-run facilities. While these issues are certainly of concern, they can be addressed with more public pressure and governmental regulations. The idea of a private prison is not a perfect one, but it could be with government reform and aid.

Despite all of these benefits, private prisons continue to be misconstrued as cruel and inhumane by much of society. The hesitance to have more private prisons lies in the fear of taking a risk. Certainly, there are dangers associated with private prisons, ranging from violent attacks by prisoners on the staff as well as assaults between inmates. However, these dangers are just as likely to be made a reality at governmental prisons as well. The issues that lay with private prisons can be fixed only if they are thoroughly pursued throughout the nation. Instead of wasting resources on overcrowded prisons, governments should invest in private prisons for the betterment of the inmates, employees, and the prison system as a whole.

-Shardul Krishnakumar

The Perils of Private Prisons

The nation’s astonishingly high incarceration rates deprive individuals of their civil liberties and necessitate lots of tax dollars. Consequently, private prisons are implemented as the “next best” alternatives. The fact of the matter, however, is that private prisons have no regard for human life; they see each prospective prisoner as a ticket to more profit. While it is commonly argued that the privatization of prisons helps to alleviate the government’s financial burdens, it does so at the expense of society’s collective well-being.

Private prisons have deep roots in slavery and systemic racism in the United States; to continue to back private prisons is to perpetuate a cycle of institutional discrimination. As outlined by the Sentencing Project, when the importation of slaves was banned in 1807, private prisons were used to confine previously enslaved peoples. During the Reconstruction Era after the Civil War, the convict lease system was established in Southern states, which allowed private companies to lease prisoners from the state for cheap labor. This was no different from slavery in terms of working conditions. The system served as a means of revenue for the state and the private corporations alike. As a result, imprisoned Black individuals were convicted of nonexistent crimes and subsequently forced to pick cotton while lining the prison owners’ pockets. Even today, there is an astounding correlation between private incarceration rates and minority status. According to the Sentencing Project, Black people are incarcerated at five times the rate of white people, and Latinx people are incarcerated at twice the rate of white people. Additionally, more than three-quarters of immigration detainees are held in private prisons, which suggests that private prisons only serve to amplify the racial and ethnic rifts in American society. The remnants of the convict lease system are seen as prisoners are forced to manufacture goods for large corporations, such as McDonald’s, with no compensation. Such abuses perpetuate the cycle of mass incarceration, representing a continuity in imprisonment without probable cause for marginalized groups.

The lack of transparency of private prisons, which is permissible by law, makes it difficult to hold them accountable for their actions. For example, the privatization of prisons creates a profit incentive for incarceration. Because the government pays these private institutions on the basis of the amount of prisoners they hold, there is an increased incentive for these prisons to detain as many people as possible, even if the grounds for incarceration are shaky at best. Additionally, many politicians who support the privatization of prisons receive campaign funding from the corporations owning such facilities; as a result, politicians are likely to pursue their own self-interests and kick the incarceration problem to the curb. Moreover, because they are not directly managed or controlled by the government, private prisons are inclined to underfund programs that could aid in the rehabilitation, medical care, and education of the incarcerated; instead, they tend to use their financial resources in very selfish ways. The free reign of private prisons also allows for human rights abuses to go unnoticed by society as fewer staff members are employed for much lower wages. A report published by the US Department of Justice in 2018 found that private prisons had much higher rates of assault and use of force than did public facilities. Taken together, these conditions may increase the frequency of recidivism, as the incarcerated are not equipped with adequate resources to survive and thrive once they get out of prison. Thus, despite being offered as a panacea to overcrowding in public prisons, the network of private prisons poses several dangers to its victims.

In order to adequately address the issue of mass incarceration within private prisons in this country, we must shift away from the prioritization of profits and towards the implementation of rehabilitation programs for those convicted of criminal offenses. Only then can we construct a justice system that is truly just and equitable for individuals from all walks of life.

-Lara Cakir

The Hawkeye

Political: Privatization of Prisons

The Hawkeye

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