ACLU argues private prisons have their pitfalls; corrections companies cite rural benefits

The American Civil Liberties Union accuses private prison companies of “profiting at the expense of a growing prison population,” Haleigh Svoboda of The Texas Tribune writes. The companies, which often build prisons in job-hungry rural areas, lobby for stricter laws with higher incarceration rates and contributed to campaigns to gain more government contracts, the ACLU’s report says. (Texas Tribune photo by Dave Nakayama)

The report also says private prisons cut costs by slashing pay for staff, which leads to higher turnover rates and less adequately trained staff, David Shapiro, staff attorney for ACLU’s National Prison Project told National Public Radio. The results: higher levels of violence in private prisons, some studies show.

Corrections Corporation of America acknowledged in Securities and Exchange Commission records that current sentencing laws increase company profits, Svoboda reports. But a CCA spokesman said the ACLU report "is being advanced by a familiar cast of industry critics and is blind to our industry's many benefits."

Critics are forgetting that some private prisons generate income for local communities and give back to the community. GEO Group provides school scholarships and pays $6,000 towards maintenance of the city's courthouse in Karnes County, Texas, NPR reports. The company "also gives money to the local Rotary Club, Toys for Tots, the Little League, Relay for Life and other organizations and events," former Karnes County judge Alger Kendall told NPR. (Read more)