Despite the industry's lackluster record, private prisons are still seemingly in high demand. For instance, legislators in New Hampshire have released a request for proposals (RFP) to construct at least 1,500 beds from private companies, even though every town in the state that has been proposed as a site has come out strongly in opposition to a private prison. Thankfully though, there is still an option to just add on to existing prison facilities, which may preclude the state from bringing in a private prison company.
Meanwhile, over in Montana, the state has failed to learn from the example set by the government in Hardin, which is one of the clearest examples of the perils of privatization. The state also released an RFP, this one for 120 medium-security and "special needs" beds. Though the scope here is smaller, the risks are the same as with any other proposal to privatize such an inherently governmental function.
Today in FL, a Republican state senator was stripped of his chairmanship of the Criminal & Civil Justice budget committee because of his opposition to prison privatization.
ReplyDeleteI feel that this subject needs more national exposure but have so far been unable to find any organized groups that have taken on this important issue.
Hey,
DeleteI just heard about Fasano too; it's completely ridiculous what Haridopolous is doing. There are however some groups working on these issues. Take a look on the right for links to some of them. In Florida in particular, the Police Benevolent Association has been very active in opposing the privatization from the get-go, and many CO unions across the country advocate against privatization as well. Also, the folks at Enlace run a campaign calling on major financial institutions to divest their holdings in private prison companies - I know that's not exactly what you're looking for, but they are a great organizing and advocacy force working to dismantle the industry.