GEO just submitted an unsolicited proposal to the state of Virginia to take over thier sex-offender monitoring center. Under the proposal, the state could privatize hundreds of beds for sexually violent criminals, who can be held indefinitely.
This opens a whole new scary front in privatization. If the state does indeed decide to privatize these services (and my gut tells me a flood of cash from GEO and its subsidiary, GEOCare might find its way to Virginia's legislator's pockets in the near future), the ramifications are terrifying.
GEO makes more money the longer it incarcerates people. It currently has no motivation to rehabilitate offenders of any type, and the distinct lack of programming and vocational instruction available in private prisons is testimony to the fact that they don't want to improve public safety or people's lives; they just want to maximize profit at literally any cost, including the welfare of society at large. But to turn over the keys to literally indefinite detention of sex offenders would be the equivalent of the state handing GEO a blank check. GEO would undoubtedly seek to maximize the stays of all its residents, because they don't earn money for helping them stay out of prison.
I think this is an effing horrible proposal.
No comments:
Post a Comment