Assignment 16- Blog Noah Tapp

Noah Tapp 

Mr. Matthew Logsdon 

13 December 2015 

Hour 1 

One of the current conflicts our nation faces  dealing with the our overpopulated prisons.  According to the United States Bureau, America incarcerates 4.4 of the worlds population and 22 percent of the worlds prison population. With these extreme  incarnation rates the federal government is having difficulty providing enough funds to the criminal justice system.  The justice system includes the law enforcement, the courts, and the correctional institute. The main purpose of the government and in particular the criminal institute is to protect its citizens. When people violate the law the justice system either sentences them to probation or incarceration. Because we have over 2 million people in prison or jail the federal government has been searching ways to reduce the  cost instead of raising taxes(U.S Bureau of Justice System). Private prisons or for profit prisons have often been the resolution. 

Private prisons are prisons that are contracted by a government agency. The debate is whether or not it is just to have the private sector control one part of the public justice system. Advocates of the private prisons state that the free market results in the best balance for an effectively governed prison. If the prices are too high, the competition will reduce the prices. If the quality is too low, the  competition will raise the quality.  

However Private prisons run their business like a corporation. The desire for money tends to make these prisons reduce  essential costs that affect the quality of prisoners.  A government agency priority is the people while a private corporation priority is its shareholders. When it comes to handling the correctional institution of our criminal system we should resort to public prisons.  Because of the profit motive, the quality of life for the prisoners, the danger the private prisons cause, private prisons should be illegal.  

Private prisons, as I said before,  receive compensation by the number a people who are imprisoned.  According to the Security Exchange Commission "the rate of construction of new facilities and the Company's potential for growth will depend on a number of factors, including crime rates and sentencing patterns in the United States ( Cheung 4)”    So the more people  for the longer amount of time they have in prison,  the more money they make. Although they can not determine the length of a sentence these prisons can lobby for extended sentences on crimes . In the past decade three of the major private prison companies  spent $45 million on campaign donations and lobbyists to push legislation at the state and federal level( Shen 1) . .  The study goes on to conclude  that the "private prison industry spent millions seeking to increase sentences and incarcerate more people in order to increase the industry’s profits (Shen 1) ." Other private prisons have actually been found to bribe judges so they can extend their sentence time (Shen 1) . As an industry, private prisons strive to make the most money they can. This conflict of interests should show that making money and public policy do not mix well,. 

To me one of the most scary things about private prisons is their upregulation. These prisons have no accountability. These companies are not audited by federal government nor are they made sure their staff is trained and treats the prisoners how they should be treated... like human beings. According to the PBS documentary Prisons for Profit a woman actually chose a smaller wage to work at a private prison because it was easier to for her to get hired. She said that private prisons required less training and often hired new inexperienced staff.  When prison guards are not trained tragic things happen. The documentary states there are 49% more staff assaults and 65% more prisoner assaults in for profit prison ( Prisons for Profit) . The for profit motive causes a more dangerous situation for the prisoners an the staff. 

Not only are the prisons and staff affected but so is society. With the reduced cost often the overall security is lower which causes more breakouts to occur. In one  of the MTC prison cooperation in Arizona three prisoners escaped. The inmates kidnapped two people and killed two others. Upon review they found that 80% of the staff was new and that the prison itself had no working lights, no working alarm systems, and no one patrolling. This is just one of the many dangerous situations private prisons cause. 

Proponents of for profit prisons often claim that these prisons offer more quality of service. However according to a Austin and covert study it is just the opposite. That claim assumes that CEOs of a company are willing to invest more in the quality of the prisoners life instead of more returns for their stockholders.  The study questions that giving untrained staff low wages will definitely not cause improved care for the prisons. 

In conclusion  it is clear to me that  private prisons should be banned.  Their profit motive and the danger the that they outweigh the benefits of the free market. For me personally I believe that we should leave many things to  the free market. But I am damn sure freedom is not one of them. In 2013 with reforms to prisons and drug treatment opportunities, Kentucky was private prison free for the first time in 30 years.  I encourage all of you, as we soon turn 18, to vote for a national representative that will do the same- ban for private profit prisons.  

Works CIted 

Shen, A. (2012), Private Prisons Spend $45 Million On Lobbying, Rake In $5.1 Billion For Immigrant Detention Alone, ThinkProgress, Aug 3, 2012, accessed 11/12/2014: 

Cheung, Amy. 2004. Prison Privatization and the Use of Incarceration. The Sentencing Project, accessed 11/3/2014 

Jurisdiction Where the Freedom of Information Act Is Applicable. Digital image. Citizens for Ethics, n.d. Web. 

Prisons for Profit. Public Broadcasting Service. PBS, n.d. Web.