Privatizing Prisons: Good or bad idea?

[rambone]

Florida is on track to privatize 30 state prisons.

The advantage of this move would be almost certainly more efficient and cost-effecting incarceration.

The disadvantage, in my view, is the creation of business incentives for creating crimes & keeping people incarcerated. Now "corrections corporations" will lobby government to create more laws and harsher sentences.

The state of the laws in this country is bad now, but would privatizing prisons make things better or worse? Discuss.

Bidding begins to privatize prisons in South Florida

The fastest privatization venture ever undertaken by the state of Florida took a big step forward Monday when the state formally sought plans from private firms to operate all prisons in an 18-county region in South Florida.

In an effort to cut costs, Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature set a Jan. 1, 2012, deadline to privatize 30 state prisons, road camps and work release centers.

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[Titanium_Frost]

I think it could be great. It could be that the state finally realized that what they are doing is not working. Maybe this is their way of trying something new and stating that they are going to try to save money in the process.

OR it could be that they are desparate to cut costs and this is their way around government unions. Only time will tell but it sounds like they are going to do this out in the open so it can be scrutinized by the people of their state. You have to give them credit for that.

BTW I did not vote in the pole because there just isn't enough information to form an opinion for me.

 

[sajnaj]

the problem that see with privitzing in the state of indiana is that when a certain company takes over not going to mention any names. they lowers there pay and lower there standards of employment, so basicaly you have convicts supervising convicts in my mind that is not a good situation.

 

[Bunnykid68]

I thought that part of the prison system was to try and keep them as full as possible to make sure they got the govenment dollars. Do not think it would matter who ran them, they want people incarcerated to keep the dollars rolling in

 

[shibumiseeker]

Just as I am against private companies running speed cameras, I am against private companies running prisons.

It's bad enough when the State takes away rights (regardless of how warranted), but private citizens or companies should not be in the position of doing so.

As it is, Wackenhut has a very bad track record in the prisons they run.

If incarceration is too expensive, don't send as many people to prison.

 

[whiskeytangofoxtrot]

the problem that see with privitzing in the state of indiana is that when a certain company takes over not going to mention any names. they lowers there pay and lower there standards of employment, so basicaly you have convicts supervising convicts in my mind that is not a good situation.

I'm not quite sure you could lower my pay much more. I'll have to think about this and I'll be back.

 

[Arm America]

It should be private, a for profit business that cuts out political correctness.

Remove the perks of being incarcerated.
Choose to eat, plant and tend a garden,
Raise beef and pork if you want meat.
Provide chain gangs to keep the medians clean and mowed.

Can't do the time....
Don't do the crime.

 

[whiskeytangofoxtrot]

Just as I am against private companies running speed cameras, I am against private companies running prisons.

It's bad enough when the State takes away rights (regardless of how warranted), but private citizens or companies should not be in the position of doing so.

As it is, Wackenhut has a very bad track record in the prisons they run.

If incarceration is too expensive, don't send as many people to prison.

Big +1

 

[Destro]

Maybe privatize prison services? Social work, food service, logistic, maintaince, healthcare?

 

[Destro]

the problem that see with privitzing in the state of indiana is that when a certain company takes over not going to mention any names. they lowers there pay and lower there standards of employment, so basicaly you have convicts supervising convicts in my mind that is not a good situation.

funny you say that, I know somebody who works for GEO or whatever, I wouldn't trust this man to water my plants...

 

[rambone]

I think for privatization of an industry to be truly useful, the service needs to not be funded by taxpayers. In the prison industry, that is necessarily not the case. It is always up to the collective to pay for incarceration of convicted individuals. Additionally I don't see a lot of 'consumer choice' being offered by a privatized prison system. The state still is intricately involved in all the critical decisions.

In this case, "privatizing" the industry just feels like government interests merging with the corporations'. Which as we know, is a characteristic of Fascism.

I still haven't voted.

 

[sajnaj]

ok here is the math geo is the company that indiana uses to privitize prisions at this point on time they have one prison under there belt. they start there pay for a new correctional officer at 9hr who wants to go work in a prison and deal with inmates for that much. the state of Indiana starts pay out for a new correctional officer at 13.46 and after 6 months they get a 50 cent on the hr raise.

now here is another out look idoc has emergency response teams for riots and any other sitution that would require a correctional officers that has received special training kinda like a swat team. well idoc used to have a have a state wide competition basically obstacle course, tug of war , marksman competition and so on. well in my experice is that normaly a facilitys emergency response team is the officers that are in the top percentile. so when you see a facilitys squad it gives you a idea of what there staffing is like at the facility. well when geo's squad came out onto the field it looked like they just got out of the county jail. when i spoke to one of the members from geo's squad he was telling me about his recipes for ramen noodles it felt like i was talking to a inmate that was uneducated.

 

[w2k0311]

Buddy of mine from the Marine Corps just landed a job a contracted security agent in a prison. Seems like a good idea, former jarhead policing the knuckleheads of our society.

 

[Titanium_Frost]

ok here is the math geo is the company that indiana uses to privitize prisions at this point on time they have one prison under there belt. they start there pay for a new correctional officer at 9hr who wants to go work in a prison and deal with inmates for that much. the state of Indiana starts pay out for a new correctional officer at 13.46 and after 6 months they get a 50 cent on the hr raise.

now here is another out look idoc has emergency response teams for riots and any other sitution that would require a correctional officers that has received special training kinda like a swat team. well idoc used to have a have a state wide competition basically obstacle course, tug of war , marksman competition and so on. well in my experice is that normaly a facilitys emergency response team is the officers that are in the top percentile. so when you see a facilitys squad it gives you a idea of what there staffing is like at the facility. well when geo's squad came out onto the field it looked like they just got out of the county jail. when i spoke to one of the members from geo's squad he was telling me about his recipes for ramen noodles it felt like i was talking to a inmate that was uneducated.

I am very sorry to bring this up but I have a condition called OCD and certain spelling problems (its their not there when showing possession) and a complete lack of capitalization drive me crazy, but when you talk about people sounding uneducated I just have to bring it up, sorry.

On a positive note the crack about Ramen noodles is spot on! I worked with a guy that just got out of county for drug possession and DUI and they are all the guy talked about! He even wrote the company so they would give him the special prison flavor but for the life of me I can't remember it...

 

[Glockapoppadopolis]

The disadvantage, in my view, is the creation of business incentives for creating crimes & keeping people incarcerated. Now "corrections corporations" will lobby government to create more laws and harsher sentences.

This is exactly why prisons should not be privatized. This would enable the same corporation that is making money off of keeping people locked up to participare in lobbying. It's asking for corruption on a massive scale.

 

[rambone]

Ok. I've been thinking about this and have made up my mind.

The only constitutional answer is to let states decide their own prison system. So it must be a mixed system based on locale. I voted the third answer. The poll could have been a little clearer.

If it were my state, I think I would prefer that the prison industry remains a not-for-profit venture, for freedom's sake. It doesn't seem wise to make it profitable to create a police state... something we are already having enough problems with.

If the prison system is too expensive, they need to reduce the number of laws and release the non-violent prisoners.

 

[tmkr]

Privatizing Prisons

It sounds like Fla. is having a tough financial time as it is,more so than some states anyway.How about lease the prisons?

 

[buford t justice]

We have both state and private prisons here in colorado ,when my wife was job hunting she looked into a job at a private prison.
When she did the research she found that the private prisons paid about 75% of what the state ran did

 

[orange]

Just wanted to post a link to this history of Arizona's SB1070.

"They talk [about] how positive this was going to be for the community," Nichols said, "the amount of money that we would realize from each prisoner on a daily rate."

It really boils down to the prison corporations making laws that make more prisoners to maximize profits. I'm against it, including against states being allowed to. Answer is right here:

It doesn't seem wise to make it profitable to create a police state...

 

[rambone]

We have both state and private prisons here in colorado ,when my wife was job hunting she looked into a job at a private prison.
When she did the research she found that the private prisons paid about 75% of what the state ran did

It usually is cushier to get a government union job. I never suggested differently. But it would cost the taxpayers less doing it the privatized way. The one 'advantage' I mentioned. Overall I think that advantage may not outweigh the consequences of privatization.