In the 1970s, the US government declared a “war on drugs” involving tough policies on drug-related crimes. These policies included strong minimum mandatory sentences and a reallocation of funds to support the imprisonment of individuals, with the intention of lowering crime rates and protecting citizens. The US experienced a “fivefold increase in imprisonment rates.” Due to the rapid growth of the inmate population and increased costs within the US prisons, the government outsourced inmates to for-profit private prisons.
Federal and state justice systems decide whether to place certain inmates in private or government prisons. 9% of prisoners in the US are held in privately owned facilities, with a majority having federal convictions, and 73% of immigration centers are private. Though private prisons are used by both the federal and state governments, 20 states do not rely on private prisons (see table below).
When inmates are put in the care of private prisons, accountability of treatment shifts from the government to private organizations. Private prisons are able to decide acceptance into their facilities through contracts with the government. Usually, private prisons negotiate restrictions on certain inmates, as there is a cap on how much the prison is willing to spend on each inmate. For example, out of eight private prisons contracted by the state of Arizona, five of those did not accept inmates with “limited physical capacity and stamina,” severe physical illness, or chronic conditions, while none allowed inmates with “high need” mental health conditions. Some inmates who became sick were “returned to state prisons due to an increase of their medical scores that exceed[ed] contractual exclusions.”
Comparing Private and Public Prisons
The private prison industry is hugely profitable nationwide. To illustrate, one of the largest companies that operates and manages private prisons in the United States, CoreCivic, reported a total revenue of $1.91 billion in the year 2020. There is not sufficient data to demonstrate that private prisons are less costly than public prisons. In 2007, the United States Government of Accountability Office wrote a report urging the Bureau of Prisons to collect better comparable data between private and public prisons to determine the impact of the difference in costs. Additionally, a study in Florida found that recidivism rates between private and public prisons were about the same. When comparing the recidivism rates of men in private prisons with those in public prisons, the difference proved to be statistically insignificant. However, when comparing the adult female group, it was found that the recidivism rate in private prisons was lower than in public prisons. Private prisons have also been found to be less safe than public prisons. In 2016, the Department of Justice found that “contract prisons incurred more safety and security incidents per capita than comparable BOP institutions.” These incidents included an increase in contraband, lockdown, inmate discipline, reports of incidents, telephone monitoring, and selected grievances.
Recent Developments
On January 20, 2021, President Biden signed the executive order on “Reforming our Incarceration System to Eliminate the Use of Privately Operated Criminal Detention Facilities.” This order directs the Department of Justice to phase out the use of private prisons by not renewing contracts with these institutions, ensuring that correctional systems focus on rehabilitation and education rather than punishment and provide inmates with a safe working and living environment. The executive order states that “[t]o decrease incarceration levels, we must reduce profit-based incentives to incarcerate by phasing out the Federal Government’s reliance on privately operated criminal detention facilities.” Though this executive order will neither immediately decrease incarceration rates nor drastically change prison environments, it is a step in the direction of a more humane incarceration and rehabilitation experience.
Incarcerated Individuals Held in the Custody of Private Prisons by Jurisdiction in 2019
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 2018 and 2019
