Resolved: In the United States, private ownership of handguns ought to be banned
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Friedmann 12Private prisons cause more recidivism- turns case.Friedmann 12 “The Societal Impact of the Prison Industrial Complex, or Incarceration for Fun and Profit—Mostly Profit” Jan 15 2012 Prison Legal News https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2012/jan/15/the-societal-impact-of-the-prison-industrial-complex-or-incarceration-for-fun-and-profitmostly-profit/ JW More Violence and Increased Recidivism Another deleterious aspect of the private prison industry is that, contrary to the claims of for-profit prison companies, prisoners held in privately-operated facilities are subjected to higher levels of violence. Also, when prisoners are released from such prisons they are less likely to be rehabilitated and more likely to recidivate. Realizing why private prisons have higher levels of violence requires an understanding of the business model of the private prison industry and how the industry generates profit. At a basic level, public and private prisons have many similarities; both require cell blocks, fences, security staff, medical units, etc. In terms of operating costs, approximately 70-80 percent of a prison’s expenses are related to staffing. Specifically, how many staff members are employed, how much they are paid, what benefits they receive and the amount of training provided. Since such a high percentage of operating expenses are related to staffing, that is where private prison firms cut costs to generate profit. On average, they employ fewer staff members than comparable public prisons; they pay less than in the public sector; they offer fewer (or less costly) benefits; and they provide less training. These tactics undeniably reduce expenses for private prison firms and boost their bottom line, but at what cost? There is substantial evidence to support the business model of the private prison industry described above. For example, according to the 2000 Corrections Yearbook, the average starting salary for private prison guards was $17,628 while the average starting salary in public prisons was $23,002. More recently, when CCA announced plans not to renew its contract to operate the Hernando County Jail in Florida effective August 2010, the sheriff said he would resume control over the jail. He also said he would increase the salaries of qualified CCA employees retained at the facility by more than $7,000 annually, to bring them in line with the salaries of the county’s corrections deputies – indicating the pay differential between the public and private sector. In terms of training for corrections employees, CCA vice president Ron Thompson stated in June 2010 that the company provides “a minimum of 200 hours of initial training, along with at least 40 hours of annual training.” However, this is significantly less than the training that employees in some state prison systems receive. California, for example, requires “a sixteen-week, formal, comprehensive training program” consisting of 640 hours. In Alabama, state prison guards must “successfully complete 480 hours of correctional officer training at an approved Academy.” The New Jersey Dept. of Corrections requires a “14-week, in-residence NJ Police Training Commission course.” Less training allows private prison companies to cut costs, but at the expense of employing staff who are less prepared for work in a prison setting. In regard to job benefits, private prison employees do not enjoy government retirement plans, civil service protection or generous health insurance available in the public sector. As a result of paying lower wages, supplying less training and providing fewer benefits, private prisons have much higher staff turnover rates than their public counterparts. According to the last self-reported data from the private prison industry, published in the 2000 Corrections Yearbook, the average turnover rate at privately-operated facilities was 53 percent. The average rate in public prisons was 16 percent. More recently, a Texas Senate Committee on Criminal Justice report released in December 2008 found that the “correctional officer turnover rate at the seven private prisons [in Texas] was 90 percent (60 percent for the five privately-operated state jails), which in either case is higher than the 24 percent turnover rate for [state] correctional officers during FY 2008.” High staff turnover rates, in turn, mean less experienced employees who lack institutional knowledge about the facilities where they work, which results in greater instability in private prisons. Higher turnover also leads to under-staffing, as employees who resign or are terminated leave vacant positions that are not immediately filled. The 2000 Corrections Yearbook found that public prisons had an average guard-to-prisoner ratio of 1 to 5.6, compared with a ratio of 1 to 8 in private prisons – which reflects significantly less staffing at privately-operated facilities. Private prison companies have a financial incentive to keep staff positions vacant, as vacant positions mean reduced payroll costs and thus higher profits. Understaffing, instability and fewer experienced employees result in higher levels of violence. Several studies have shown that privately-operated prisons experience more violence, including a 2004 report in the Federal Probation Journal that found private prisons had over twice as many prisoner-on-prisoner assaults than in public prisons. A 2001 Bureau of Justice Assistance report found that private prisons had 65 percent more prisoner-on-prisoner assaults and 48 percent more prisoner-on-staff assaults than public prisons with comparable security levels. A more recent 2011 examination of private and public prisons in Tennessee revealed similar results, with privately-operated facilities having higher average numbers and rates of violent incidents than public prisons. There is also anecdotal evidence that security problems and violence are more likely to occur at private prisons as a result of the industry’s business model, which results in high staff turnover and thus inexperienced staff and greater institutional instability. As just one example, during a four-month period from May to September 2004, CCA experienced four major riots at prisons in Colorado, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Kentucky, plus a hostage-taking at a jail in Florida. A Department of Corrections report following the uprising in Colorado found that just 33 CCA guards were watching over 1,122 prisoners at the time of the riot – a ratio 1/7th that at Colorado state prisons (which had an average guard-to-prisoner ratio of 1 to 4.7). Some CCA employees had literally been “on the job for two days or less.” The CCA facility had a 45 percent staff turnover rate, and CCA guards were paid an average salary of $1,818 per month compared with $2,774 for state prison officers. As indicated above, these deficiencies are a direct result of the business model of the private prison industry. Certainly public prisons experience riots, violence and other problems, too – but the frequency and severity of such incidents in private prisons imply that those facilities are more prone to unrest and instability as a consequence of how the private prison industry cuts costs in order to generate profit. A related issue concerns the rehabilitation of prisoners in privately-operated facilities. Consider that for-profit prison firms have a vested interest in maintaining – and increasing – the number of people behind bars. The sole purpose of companies like CCA and GEO Group is to generate profit, not to ensure public safety, aid in the rehabilitation of offenders or reduce recidivism and thus decrease the amount of crime and victimization in our communities. Directory: file -> view view -> Western Europe after wwii view -> Author study: paul fleischman view -> Qpa1 7ela study Guide view -> Arctic Oil/Gas Neg view -> November 1970 Approximately 150,000-500,000 deaths Bhola Cyclone Bangladesh view -> Grade Level: 6 Unit of Study: Caribbean glce view -> Citation: Duffield, Katy view -> Table of Contents Lesson # view -> Chinese Wind Energy Disad Download 0.99 Mb. Share with your friends:
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