Effing Florida

So before I go off on a tangent here, I apologize for the litany of links to come.  But the situation in Florida has quickly spiraled out of control and, seeing as I'm already weeks late on reporting this, I wanted to try to put together as much info here as possible.  Enjoy!

Florida's politicians really just can't take a hint.  After they failed to force widespread privatization on the state's prison system, against the wishes of the director of their DOC (but at the behest of companies that spent a million dollars lobbying the legislature), the asshats in the state legislature are back at it, this time with a vengeance.  Even the fact that the GEO Group is under FBI investigation over a deal that brought a private prison to the state, and the state's Circuit Court ruling the initial push unconstitutional, have failed to slow down the push to privatize.

The state Senate introduced a stand-alone bill that mirrors the one that previously failed.  On January 18th, the law that would force nearly 4,000 government employees out of jobs (of course, this comes from the Republicans, the party of "job creators," or so we're told) passed a rules committee and went before the full Senate for consideration.  A separate bill would even exempt the state from a requirement to perform a cost/benefit analysis of the proposed privatization until after a contract is signed.  In a state where the two biggest private prison companies have been found to have cheated the state out of almost $13 million within the past 7 years.  The state ought to perform a more thorough analysis of the potential risks and benefits of privatization before committing so many taxpayer dollars to such a risky venture.  Because otherwise, this is just about as blatant a handout to corporate special interests as I could conceive, a gateway to giving millions of taxpayer dollars to companies that, if they weren't subsidized by desperate governments, would utterly fail on the free market.  Then again, Republicans don't actually like free markets, they just like markets rigged in the favor of the wealthy, but that's a different story altogether.

As if all this wasn't bad enough, the state seems to be assisting the industry that has failed to demonstrate any significant cost savings, ever, by removing the most costly prisoners from the facilities intended to be privatized. The industry is notorious for cherry-picking the cheapest inmates, but I can't remember an instance in which a state preemptively took the most expensive prisoners for itself.  This whole thing reeks so badly of corruption that a conservative-leaning newspaper in Florida has opined that the state's legislators "seem to be drawn to secrecy and backroom deal-making at the expense of good government and public trust."  I'll say.

In fact, some politicians seem downright hell-bent on getting this privatization passed, despite the substantial opposition coming from pretty much everyone BUT Republicans in the state government and the industry.  Senate Republicans have fast-tracked the two bills by putting them before just one committee, a committee that really has never had any responsibility in determining correctional needs.  Thankfully, there is at least one Republican in the state with some sense, Mike Fasano, who has voiced his opposition to the way the bills are being handled and called upon his colleagues to refer the bill that would privatize half the prison system to the committee that oversees the state prison system.  Revolutionary thinking, I know.

So Haridopolous, the bill's sponsor, said he'll also refer it to the Budget Committee.  As in, not the criminal justice committee.  As in, the same committee that hid the original privatization proviso as a last-minute amendment, prompting the circuit court to rule its actions unconstitutional.  As in, the committee headed up by JD Alexander, who has pushed for privatization for years, starting with the deal that the GEO Group is currently under investigation for.

More than two hours of testimony from state employees who would likely lose their jobs if the plan moves forward failed to sway the opinions of the republicans who are just determined to destroy state jobs for the sake of giving hundreds of millions of dollars to corporations that lobby them. JD Alexander remains convinced, based on evidence no has has seen but him apparently, that the state can save $45 million per year by privatizing its prisons.  I don't think it's a stretch to say that, should those fantasy numbers ever materialize, that it will come directly at the expense of the prisoners who find themselves in private lockups.  The bill then passed a house appropriations subcommittee, where the legislators are seemingly unaware of the other bill that would allow for contracts to be signed with private prison operators absent any demonstration of cost-savings.  In what I guess is supposed to be some conciliatory gesture towards the thousands of state employees who will be out of work, the bill requires they get the first shot at jobs at the new private facilities.  Those would be jobs that pay significantly less in wages and benefits, where they would be surrounded by green staff without proper training, and where they would likely be routinely subjected to working with a short staff, which creates a dangerous environment for employees and prisoners alike.  What a great deal!

Or, more accurately, what a fucking mess.

CCA Ignores Problems Until a Crisis Develops

Apologies for being so late on getting to this, but I wanted to put in a quick link here to a story about a riot that took place in Colorado about 7 years ago at a CCA prison in Crowley.  After an extensive investigation, it's been revealed that CCA failed to adequately train it staff and failed to prepare for emergency situations such as riots.  They also neglected many warning signs that the facility was nearing a crisis point, failing repeatedly to prevent the brewing unrest. Following continuous abuse at the hands of the undertrained staff, some prisoners began to riot while others tried to stay in their cells to avoid getting in trouble.  After the riot had been raging for hours, a special forces unit was called in to put it down.  Many prisoners reported they then received harsher treatment from staff following the incident than anything they had experienced during the riot.

2 + 2 = 4

What do you get when you cross an explosion in the incarceration rate of immigrants with the proliferation of private, for-profit prisons to house them?  Why, you get a FUCKING 90% increase in the arrest of guards in federal prisons over the last decade, and a 200% increase in investigations of misconduct.  And mind you, private prisons still only house about 17% of federal prisoners.  So their guards must really be terrible.

If anyone ever tries to convince you that an employee of a private prison company (or employee of any private company performing an inherently governmental function for that matter) operates to the same standards as his government counterpart, you can call that person an idiot.

Their Guards Molest Women

Private prisons often appear so attractive to lawmakers because they claim they are able to save bundles of money compared to government-run prisons.  While this isn't exactly the truth, these companies still routinely cut corners in almost every aspect of their operations in order to maximize profits, because, after all, that's what they really care about.  Since staff expenses (salary, benefits, training) comprise the largest portion of any facility's budget, private prisons often pay dramatically less to their staff in the name of profit.

The problem with this approach lies in the fact that private prisons, because they offer less in salary and benefits, aren't able to attract as high-quality candidates as government-run prisons.  Just recently, when Hernando County Florida took over operation of its jail from CCA, the sheriff hired only about 1/3 of the private company's employees to work for his department (and remarked at the time that he couldn't believe a lot of CCA's employees weren't incarcerated themselves).  Anecdotally, it's rather well-known that many guards at private prisons have some unsavory histories, and guards who screw up at one prison or another (government-run or not) can usually find work at a different private prison, where the companies rarely perform background checks that are as extensive as the government would.  Combine all this with the industry's aversion to providing adequate and consistent training to their guards (because, again, that would hurt the bottom line), and you've got a recipe for disaster.

Unfortunately, this disaster revealed itself to women who immigrated to the US but found themselves locked up in the Hutto Correctional Center, part of ICE's network in Texas, which is operated by CCA.  A guard at the facility just pleaded guilty to sexually molesting immigrants as he transported them to and from the facility.

Update on Arizona's RFP

The state of Arizona is currently seeking proposals from private prison companies to construct 5,000 new prison beds. This comes despite the fact that numerous private prisons already operate in the state (but they mostly take prisoners from other states, which is a whole separate mess), and that those private prisons have been proven to be more expensive than the government-run ones.

So the supposedly conservative leadership of the state apparently doesn't really care about fiscal responsibility. No surprise there.  But I sure hope they care about contract non-compliance and a failure to deliver efficient and effective services.  Because the groups vying to get the contracts for these beds all had awful track records.  A DOC spokesman said recently that the department would consider past performance in awarding the contracts.  If so, the GEO Group might not fare too well in the bidding process, because very recently they have had major issues operating the Walnut Grove Youth CF and the Eastern Mississippi CF.  Things like riots, stabbings, guards selling drugs, children being sprayed with chemicals while locked down, physical abuse, extreme malnourishment of prisoners, and abusing prisoners for displaying symptoms of untreated mental illness.  You know, little things.

Another company, MTC, is no better.  After 3 convicts escaped their Kingman, Arizona facility last year and killed an elderly vacationing couple, it took the company 8 months to implement new security measures.  Unfortunately, I don't think these issues or the ones that all other private prison companies seem to suffer from will stop the state from privatizing, partly because these companies are very effective PR machines, able to consistently sell bad products to the same consumers.  The good citizens of Goodyear, AZ didn't fall for the sales pitch, and emphatically declared their opposition to a private prison coming to their town.

The rest of the state's taxpayers may also be in luck.  Rep. Chad Campbell, the state's House Majority Leader, has called for a delay of the proposed 5,000 bed expansion.  As public hearings continue in various rural areas throughout the state to debate the relative merits of bringing a private prison to town, Campbell asks that the expansion be delayed until "after enhanced security, training, and monitoring policies are in place and shown to be effective at all existing private facilities."  Thank you Mr. Campbell for injecting some common sense into the situation.

Straight From the Horse's Mouth

Ohio is currently in the process of trying to sell 5 state prisons to private operators to raise money during the recession.  As I reported on before, the deal isn't nearly as beneficial for the state and its taxpayers as it was initially said to be.  So any hopes Ohio's taxpayers have of saving money on corrections through privatization should be tempered, especially because private prisons have often been found to not even save any significant amount of money in operations, compared to government-run prisons.

So private prisons don't save money.  Private prisons also consistently have higher rates of escapes, assaults, and violence at their facilities, and they cut corners in every area of operations.  So really the state of Ohio should listen to CCA spokesman Steve Owen, who says "If we don't operate safe, secure facilities, and we don't provide the cost savings that are expected, there's no reason for government to continue to partner with our industry."  I couldn't have said it better myself.

I think Ohio should heed his words, especially in light of the state's turbulent history with private prisons.  In addition to one of the biggest lawsuits to slam the industry during the 90's, the result of a riot at a Youngstown prison operated by CCA, the state has had numerous escapes and murders at other private prisons.  And in a rather blatant handout to the industry, the state of Ohio is even going to pay to help train the guards at the private prisons.  On the one hand, this is good because guards at private prisons rarely if ever receive as much training as they need, but this is something that should really be paid for by the companies who buy the prisons and want to assume responsibility for operating them.

Staffing Issues in Pennsylvania

Private prisons, when they do save money, are often able to do so primarily through reductions in staff costs (staffing being the most expensive component of a prison's operation).  This comes in the forms of reduced pay, reduced benefits, less training, and lower staffing levels (staff-inmate ratios).  Taken together, these cuts present a dangerous situation for prisoners and staff alike, as criminals are guarded by too few people, many of whom are underqualified to be in their positions.  Turnover is exceptionally high among private prison staff, so many guards are really ill-prepared to handle the responsibility of managing prisoners.

Pennsylvania's experimentation with private prisons is suffering from exactly these sorts of problems.  At a privately-run youth detention facility, underqualified staff and low staffing levels have contributed to numerous altercations between staff and prisoners.  "When I walk into certain places, I still see staff that are too young ... that act like teenagers, that get in between the gossip and the drama... I understand it's a difficult job, but I think you need to have a certain type of heart," said an employee of the facility. 

 At another private youth facility run by the GEO Group, turnover for the month of May was greater than 20%; "The chronic issue of insufficient staffing had risen to a near emergency level, making it impossible for staff to provide consistent supervision, much less, meaningful programming to clients."

When you turn to private companies to provide an inherently governmental service, you should expect outcomes like this.  Unfortunately, many children have had to suffer because of the decisions of overzealous conservative lawmakers who push to privatize every service the government provides.

Staff Charged with Having Sex with Inmate

An MTC guard has just been charged with having sexual intercourse with a female prisoner he was supposed to be guarding. This is exactly what happens when you hire unqualified staff and don't train them properly.

I've Been Saying This for Years...

An excellent article in the New York Times from last week discusses how private prisons have failed to deliver on their promises of cost-savings in Arizona. In fact, "privately operated prisons can cost more to operate than state-run prisons — even though they often steer clear of the sickest, costliest inmates."

Private prisons essentially cherry-pick their prisoners. They take primarily low-level, nonviolent offenders, who cost less to house and maintain. They take mostly younger guys, and force the state to take older prisoners, who are more prone to costly health problems. They also rarely house high-security inmates.

In addition to all this, they cut corners on maintenance, have a horrible track record of denying medical care, and use significantly less staff than government-run institutions (staff costs being among the most expensive components of a prison's budget). They pay and train their staff less, and offer less benefits, which results in their staff being by and large less qualified and professional than you'd find in a government prisons.

Yet even after all of this, they still don't save a significant amount of money, and can even cost more to operate than a government-run facility. This study is just the latest of numerous reports that have all found essentially the same thing, going back nearly a decade. But our country's inability to enact effective sentencing and parole/probation reform to reduce our over-reliance on incarceration has caused governments to continue to perform this failed experiment with privatization. Hopefully, the decision that came down today in Plata v. Schwarzenneger will demonstrate that we cannot just continue to expand our prison population indefinitely.

Waking Up?

The link here is a few days old, but I wanted to put it up because it's one of the few stories I've seen recently about private prisons that isn't completely disheartening. It's an opinion piece from a former police officer and employee of a private security firm from Florida on why Governor Ric Scott is wrong to want to further privatize his state's correctional system. The article very simply lays out a lot of the issues concerning private prisons, such as staffing, lobbying for harsher criminal sanctions, and a lack of oversight.

And while all those things are bad, Mr. Frank really gets the to crux of the issue. He says: "The real danger is in human rights abuse," and that's the truth. For all the shady business practices and cost-cutting of the private prison industry, the real victims of private prisons are the folks unfortunate enough to find themselves housed in one.

Three Days Too Late?

I originally decided not to write about the linked story because I didn't think it was super news-worthy, at least for this blog. About 2 weeks ago, California finalized a deal to send another 5,800 prisoners to private prisons in other states, in addition to the approximately 9,000 they already house out-of-state due to severe overcrowding within their own system. While they continue to fight against a court order to release 45,000 prisoners, and steadily fail to implement any sort of sentencing or parole reform that could reduce the population, California's government has decided to subject an even greater proportion of its prisoners to the abuses of private prisons.

Yes, that's definitely bad. But what prompted me to write about this decision is a letter that was sent three days later. Not just any letter, but one from the Inspector General of California, who had just completed an audit of out-of-state private prisons that house California prisoners.

In the letter, which describes the findings of the audit, the Inspector General details the problems his office uncovered in their work. I often feel that when I write on here, I am unable to convey the range, severity, and pervasiveness of the problems that plague private prisons. Maybe it's because I try to focus on individual issues within private prisons, maybe it's something else. But I rarely feel like I do a sufficient job of describing how a multitude of abuses, neglect, and violations of human/civil rights can all co-exist at a private prison, and the toll their compounded effect can take. This letter from the IG achieves at least the former; the litany of issues decribed in a mere 11 pages is astounding.

Among the issues described: Using Administrative Segregation (solitary confinement) unecessarily, discriminating against Hispanic prisoners in program access, poor screening of COs before they're hired, prisoners in secure areas, not requiring COs to have weapons training, improper evidence handling, using an unapproved Use-of-Force policy, and inmates not even being provided with up-to-date facility rules. I know, that's a lot to take in. Taken together, the potential for violations of prisoners' rights is astronomical.

But maybe the most serious issue is the widespread failure of private prisons to maintain an adequate prisoner grievance process. Boxes that hold grievances forms were often unlocked and poorly monitored. Why is this the most serious issue? Because for a lot of these prisoners, those grievance forms are maybe the only recourse they have when their rights are violated. By not only subjecting these poor men to abuse, but then effectively denying or silencing their right to grieve the abuses they suffer (and they do have an affirmative right to grieve), these prisons amount to little more than closely-controlled totalitarian regimes.

So despite the findings by the IG of California that private, out-of-state prisons which house California's prisoners are essentially s**tholes, they're going to send more people there. That's just wonderful.

Hitting the Nail on the Head

From the tendency of poorly trained and low-paid staff to be susceptible to bribes, to how the supposed but unproven "cost savings" of privatizing prisons never matriculates its way down to the average taxpayers, TradingMarkets.com just published one of the most magnificent and pointed editorials on private prisons I've seen in a long time. I strongly recommend you take the time to read it.

Screwing Up Left and Right (or West and South)

Just a quick link here to a great piece by G.W. Schultz at the Center for Investigative Reporting, documenting all the recent messes CCA has found itself in as a result of the various ways in which it cuts corners and fails to properly train staff. Schultz highlights recent cases in Texas, Idaho, and Arizona as great examples of why the private prison industry should be outlawed in this country and elsewhere (well, he doesn't exactly make that conclusion but I'm ready to).

CCA and Cornell Get What They Pay For

The private prison industry is known for not always having the most qualified corrections officers, because they don't run as extensive background checks as the government, they pay considerably less (because they hire non-union), and they don't provide as many hours of training.  This of course results in all sorts of abuse and foul play taking place among the guards.  The title link goes to an article about a Cornell employee who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old under his watch (yes, they run juvenile detention centers too), and here's a link to an article about a CCA employee who tried to smuggle cocaine into the prison for an inmate:

http://www.abc15.com/content/news/phoenixmetro/central/story/Arizona-corrections-officer-caught-buying-cocaine/wUAfv6nbHEiuQuV7VsQ4eQ.cspx

And it was apparently a good deal of cocaine, because he received $1,600 and a half ounce of the stuff as payment (great too, by the way, for a corrections officer to get half an ounce of cocaine.  I'm sure he's supremely qualified to have authority over prisoners)

Undertrained Staff

A recent surprise inspection of a prison owned and operated by LCS Correctional Services revealed that 73% of the staff haven't yet completed their training to be COs. I guess that makes sense, since this is the facility that wrongly released a convicted sex offender. Maybe if you trained your people properly, they wouldn't release the wrong guys.

Underpaid, Undertrained Staff

Corrections officers at CCA facilities in Arizona get paid about half as much as those employed by the state, and only receive about 1/3 of the training. No wonder CCA is able to provide such a great bargain on incarceration. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

More of the same

A female inmate was raped at a CCA facility in New Mexico by an education director who threatened to prolong her sentence if she refused. Unfortunately, this isn't very surprising given the fact that CCA doesn't provide as much training for their employees as government-run facilities, or conduct proper background checks of their employees. Until they raise their standards, they can expect to have more employees engaging in inappropriate behavior with the prisoners under their care.