Texas Prison Bid'ness

Jail dollarWith the goal of lowering the operating costs of the Liberty County Jail, 253rd District Court Judge Chap B. Cain initiated a plan to reduce the number of non-violent individuals housed in the jail.  This sounds like a great plan, one where the county saves millions, public safety is not harmed, and non-violent individuals are not locked up.  Everyone wins … right?  Wrong! 

As The Cleveland Advocate reported ("County’s jail inmate population down, but companies now asking for more money per inmate," 1/21/12), for-profit prison companies have reacted by telling the community that they will not let the county’s smart on crime approach undermine the profitability of the county jail.   As 75th District Court Judge Mark Morefield, who supports the inmate reduction plan, stated: “’One bid said that if the inmate population goes below 200, the cost per inmate goes from $63 to $68 per day. If we work really hard to decrease the inmate population, the cost will go up to $70 per day, … [t]hey are taking all the incentive out of it.’”  With profit as their main goal, it comes as no surprise that for-profit prison companies have actively lobbied against some criminal justice reforms and for the continuation of the failed “tough on crime” approach to criminal justice.  Liberty County is just one more casualty in the for-profit prison companies’ race to maximize their bottom line. 

But, Liberty County may not bow down to the for-profit prison industry.  According to The Cleveland Advocate, Judge Morefield believes the county can manage its jail.  For Texas Prison Bid’ness readers in Liberty County – this is your opportunity to take a stand by supporting the effort to kick the for-profit prison companies out of Liberty County!

The Sentencing Project* recently published a new report on private prisons titled, Too Good to be True: Private Prisons in America authored by Cody Mason.  The publication details the history of private prisons in America and documents the increase in their use.  The major findings include:

• Texas prisoners in private facilities grew by 55% from 1999 thru 2010.
• From 1999 to 2010 the use of private prisons increased by 40% at the state level and by 784% in the federal system.
• In 2010 seven states housed more than 25% of their prison population in private facilities. 
• Savings associated with investing in private prisons appear dubious.

Over the next several days, Texas Prison Bid'ness will be highlighting the top five private prison stories of 2011, and looking forward to the new year.   Our #3 story is the increased exposure of the American Legislative Exchange Council and the role of private prison lobbyists in influencing legislation.

Earlier this year, The Nation and The Center for Media and Democracy released ALEC Exposed.  ALEC Exposed brought to light the actions of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an organization that unites corporations with state legislators to “discuss” public policy and draft model legislation.  One of the most concerning areas of this public/private partnership is in the realm of criminal justice and prisons.  In fact, criminal injustice may be a more appropriate phrase.  Thanks to ALEC, the for-profit prison industry has a lot to be thankful for during this holiday season.

As The Nation reported, “ALEC helped pioneer some of the toughest sentencing laws on the books today, like mandatory minimums for non-violent drug offenders, ‘three strikes’ laws, and ‘truth in sentencing’ laws.”  According to the proponents, these laws are designed to reduce crime.  In reality, as California saw first hand, instead of reducing recidivism these laws lead to severe overcrowding.  In the end, public safety is undermined (at the expense of taxpayers) while the for-profit prison industry makes out like a bandit.  Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the largest private prison company, played a lead role on the ALEC task force developing some of this legislation.  NPR reported last year that through its membership in ALEC, CCA was actually able to help draft model anti-immigrant legislation like Arizona's noxious SB 1070.   

Unfortunately, the negative influence of the for-profit prison industry is not limited to ALEC.  As the ACLU reported, CCA and The Geo Group, Inc. have engaged in a multi-state lobbying effort to fight smart on crime reforms.  These two corporations hired 271 lobbyists in over 32 states between 2003-2011.  Between 1999 and 2009, CCA alone spent over $18 million on lobbying, just at the federal level.  To understand their need for this army of lobbyists you do not need to read any further than Geo’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings (CCA’s is similar):

“Our growth depends on our ability to secure contracts to develop and manage new correctional, detention and mental health facilities, the demand for which is outside our control …. [A]ny changes with respect to the decriminalization of drugs and controlled substances could affect the number of persons arrested, convicted, sentenced and incarcerated, thereby potentially reducing demand for correctional facilities to house them. Similarly, reductions in crime rates could lead to reductions in arrests, convictions and sentences requiring incarceration at correctional facilities. Immigration reform laws which are currently a focus for legislators and politicians at the federal, state and local level also could materially adversely impact us.”

 The U.S. has the highest rate of imprisonment in the world, and the private prison industry clearly wants to make sure it stays that way. While taxpayer and civil rights advocates have been working to reform archaic and ineffective criminal justice laws, working to ensure that our laws reflect current research on effective ways to reduce crime and protect human rights, for-profit prison corporations are headed in the opposite direction.  To these corporations, societal impact and public safety don’t matter.  The only thing that is relevant is maximizing the bottom line.

The Corrections Corporation of America held its third quarter invCCA Logoestor call in early November.  The company reported an increase in revenue primarily due to an increase in federal contracts with various agencies.

"revenue for the third quarter of 2011 increased 1.9% to $433.5 million from $425.3 million during the third quarter of 2010, primarily driven by a 2.3% increase in average daily inmate populations... The increase in federal revenue primarily resulted from per diem increases associated with certain management contracts, higher populations primarily from the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) as well as the commencement in October 2010 of a new contract with the USMS at [the] Nevada Southern Detention Center. These increases were partially offset by the September 30, 2010 expiration of the contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) at [the] California City facility, which contained a 95% guarantee through the expiration date."

The company is adding capacity to it’s overall system -- none in Texas -- at the Lake Erie Correctional Institution (Ohio), Jenkins Correctional Center (Georgia), and is expanding capacity under its McRae Correctional Facility (Georgia) with the BOP.  The prison profiteers reported an increase in  daily compensated population by 2.3% to 80,851 in the third quarter of 2011 from 79,053 during the same time last year. 

Despite expanded contracts and new capacity, company officials reported an excess inventory of 10,500 beds.  The excess capacity has the private prison profiteers looking for new contracts.  One potential customer is Harris County (Houston) where there are have been discussions about privatizing the jail system.  While we know there are better approaches that county officials can look too, it’s important to keep an eye on CCA and any negotiations that company is engaging in the bayou city.  Something to pay attention to in 2012.