Wednesday, April 18, 2012

New Hampshire Continues March Towards Privatization

New Hampshire has been debating whether or not to start housing some its prisoners in private facilities over the past few months.  First came a proposal to send 600 prisoners to out-of-state private prisons.  Then, the state submitted a request for proposals to construct a private facility; four companies submitted bids to get the contract.

Now, those companies have also bid on construction of a hybrid facility, which would hold both men and women and be at least 1,700 beds.  The state is looking for a company to operate the facility for the next two decades, apparently taking a cue from CCA's recent proposal to 48 governors.

And most recently, the state is considering a proposal that would subject its entire prison population to private control.  This comes despite the fact that the state's prison population is actually declining - it could have something to do with the tens of thousands of dollars the industry has spent on lobbyists to push privatization.  Maybe.

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