Louisiana on the Brink of a Terrible Decision?

Louisiana, the state with the highest rate of incarceration in the country, is considering selling its Avoyelles Correctional Center to a private company in a vain effort to save money.  This was immediately panned as a terrible idea by many in central Louisiana (where the prison is located), including the union that represents COs (AFSCME) and a local mayor who is concerned about public safety issues if the privatization moves forward.  State legislators also voiced concerns about the privatization effort, after witnessing problems at current private prisons within the state; one went so far as to beg the legislature, "Don't do this to the victims of crime all over Louisiana."  A former legislator also lamented the prospect of forcing state employees to take jobs with less pay and benefits, but the bill passed the appropriations committee by a narrow vote.

The first incarnation of the bill to privatize the prison would have set the contract length at 30 years; thankfully, the bill's sponsor had an epiphany of (some) common sense, and introduced an amendment that would prevent the prison from being sold (but not turning over its operation) and limit the contract to ten years.  A second amendment would also prevent a private company from charging a minimum occupancy rate, which could seriously undermine any company's desire to undertake responsibility for the facility.  Which would be a wonderful development.

Even with these new restrictions, privatizing Avoyelles would be a very risky decision; the mayor of Alexandria, Louisiana claims that privatization would present "significant issues" and put Alexandria "on the long-term road to being in a worse place than where [it] started."  The mayor went on to discuss how privatization has failed to save Louisiana and other states money in the past, and was joined by a former corrections official in warning about the potential impact on public safety.  The Southern Poverty Law Center concurred, saying that the long-term costs will far outweigh any short-term benefits achieved through privatization.  A managing attorney at the firm describes how private prison companies often lowball per diem rates at the beginning of a contract, then demand higher rates for prisoners once a government has committed to sending prisoners there.  Basically, the companies get governments by the cojones - once the prisoners are in a private facility, the logistical headache of relocating hundreds of convicts allows the companies to charge more.

It appears as though all this opposition might finally be getting through to legislators; even after the sale of the prison was removed from the bill, the legislation appears to be in danger of failing.  Apparently, politicians in Louisiana are beginning to realize that endangering public safety for corporate profits might not be the most politically palatable course of action.

Privatization Pushback

Proposals to privatize health care and mental health care for prisoners have begun to meet resistance in both North Carolina and Pennsylvania.  Let's start with the NC situation, which really scares the crap out of me.

First is a quick read; a great little editorial discussing the drawbacks of privatization and how private vendors often fail to live up to the public's expectations.  According to the author, "the logic in privatizing the services falls short... Anticipated savings might be difficult to come by... state oversight would have to be not just maintained but intensified," and the lack of competing bids calls the wisdom of the plan into question.

The community has started to pay attention as well.  A town hall meeting was convened earlier this week at a church, where many residents expressed concerns about personal and public safety if the GEO Group starts providing mental healthcare for serious criminals.

Then there's Pennsylvania, where Governor Tom Corbett wants to privatize liquor sales and has tossed around the idea of privatizing healthcare for state prisoners.  Thankfully, that foolish plan has already met with opposition both from the general public, as nurses picketed in protest of the plan, and from local politicians.  State Senator David Argall contends that the plan presents a serious risk to public safety, as would any plan in which instruments designed to promote public safety are turned over to the lowest bidder among companies with long histories of abuse and negligence.