Do Private Prisons Save Money?

Private prisons have thrived in the United States on the assumption that they save tax dollars by operating more efficiently. But that isn't necessarily true — and fortunately at this point, states are starting to question whether we should outsource incarceration at all.

Take Kentucky, for example. Currently, Kentucky has the country's fastest-growing prison population, and the state is considering using private facilities to handle the thirst for more cells. The state's Chamber of Commerce claims private prisons save the state $2,500 per prisoner, but Kentucky's Legislative Research Commission recently issued a report challenging these numbers, saying the original projection compared different prisoner populations and wasn't accurate. The legislative report also noted that prisoner grievances were twice as high in the state's three private facilities as they were in state-run prisons.

For years, studies have grappled over whether private prisons are more cost-effective — with unconvincing results. A meta-study conducted in five states by the U.S. Government Accounting Office in 1996, for example, found that “studies reported little difference and/or mixed results in comparing private and public facilities.”

And questionable cost-savings are just one reason states should hesitate before privatizing incarceration. Reports from across the country have found that a reliance on undertrained and uncertified guards has led to increased levels of violence. The Corrections Corporation of America admitted this week that guards watched as one prisoner beat another at an Iowa Idaho facility (they claim they were waiting for the Emergency Response Team, but don't say how long it took them to arrive).

In uncertain economic times, private prison companies are struggling -- as Colin wrote here this week, thanks to the recession, leading operators like GEO Group are watching their cells get emptied, as federal funding is cut and the American addiction to incarceration slows. That's good news, but it also means such companies will do anything they can to keep building beds and housing more prisoners.

The economic benefits of private prisons are anything but certain. And as states finally wake up to alternatives to incarceration, the future of the privatization model could finally be in question.

H/t: The Rural Blog

Photo Credit: The GEO Group