The fallacies of the US prison system By Rehaan Kukean
It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.”
― Nelson Mandela
The early expansion
America’s prison system has been failing to fulfil its main purpose: reduce the rate of crime. From 1970 to 2010 there was a protuberant growth in the prison population from “196,000 to 1,570,000”. This not only shows society hasn’t leashed themselves from crime in fear of incarceration but also that the prison system is failing to complete its purpose of redefining the convicts of the society. These inadequacies started from when President Ronald Reagan decided to administrate the war on drugs act, the incarceration rates skyrocketed in the 1980s. The overflow of inmates encouraged the government to seek help from the CCA, whose role was to make maintenance cost cheaper for the government and take a percentage for themselves. What ensued was what could only be expected from a corporate enterprise running government business.
The hostile invasion
Prisons were mass produced all across the nation, starting in Tennessee, over a six-year gap another sixty-six were included. Even though these prisons had been introduced; a study from the NYU school of law state that “since 2000, the effect on the crime rate of increasing incarceration has been essentially zero”. The astounding proof surrounding the conclusion that prisons have no effect on the crime rate is due to the CCA using disturbing practices to profit as much as possible. For example, phone calls from inside the prison can cost up to fifteen dollars, this is due to firms exploiting the monopoly imparted in these systems. The CCA would then treat prisons as simple goods instead of the important institution it is. The co-founder of the CCA stated that “You just sell prisons like you were selling cars or real estate or hamburgers.” This mentality has caused the CCA to disregard the needs of keeping prisoners imprisoned. Instead, they operate using cheaper solutions, like hiring fewer workers and cheaper facilities. Justice policy state that “Private prison employees earn an average of over $5,000 less than their government-employed counterparts and receive 58 fewer hours of training.” This behaviour is downright unethical, as it treats prisoners with no respect. As you can see inadequacy is a bountiful commodity in private correctional facilities. As it is not limited to only the staff and facilities, but also the corrections programs in which they say they specialise. Interview data gained from actual prisoners show that most prisoners that went into private prison GED programs only enrolled in one three hour class a day, whereas prisoners in government DOCs enrolled in full-day education programs. This shows that the CCA has been unable to properly do their job. And the very name that they’ve built is a complete lie.
Distorted candour
These numbers and evidence should point to the conclusion, that the CCA is staying true to their promise of lowering the cost of incarceration for the government. But that would be false, a NY Times article states that sustaining a person in prison “cost about the same as they do in state-run prisons.” Along with that, a study was done by the Arizona Department of Corrections state that in order to mask their cheap behaviour, private prisons use healthy inmates only. The state representative calling it “cherry picking.” A cheaper method of functioning and at the same cost means that the CCA must make a hefty profit, and that would be true. In 2015 the CCA made 1.8 billion dollars. This profuse amount of money is gained from the fact that one-fifth of America’s inmates are in for-profit facilities. Secondly, on August 18, 2016. An undercover investigation was conducted in Huntsville, Texas by their office of inspector general showed that private prisons were “less safe, less effective, and more expensive than government-run facilities”. And an expose covered by Mother Jones stated that the CCA is the second largest for-profit system in the US!
The CCA has also figured out a way to keep the routine continuous, a study done states that private prisons give out twice as many infractions. The reasoning behind this is that the CCA is paid on how full their facilities are, a situation in Arizona occurred when the private facility didn’t make it’s 97% fulfilment quota; and contracts emplaced forced the state to pay a 3 million dollar fine. This contract encourages indigent states to keep prisoners from leaving on loosely grounded reasons. Not only is this extremely unethical, but it also debases inmates that have tried hard to improve and left them with no desire for betterment.
Conclusion
Overall it’s safe to say that the US government made a huge mistake employing the “efforts” of the CCA. They have proven to have intent in only maximising marginal profits. There has been example after example of them cutting corners, and deceiving the government at the expense of the prisoners. But after knowing this what could you do to this huge problem, right? Wrong, your input is invaluable. Your input doesn’t have to be intense protests, strikes or fasting. Whether it’s simply blogging about the problem or advocating it to friends and family; getting the information out about this tragedy is a great step in the right direction.
Sources Cited
FutureLearn. “Why Did the U.S. Prison Population Increase so Much?” FutureLearn, The University of Sheffield, www.futurelearn.com/courses/economics-of-crime/0/steps/20279.
Joy, Tara. “The Problem with Private Prisons – Justice Policy Institute.” – Justice Policy Institute, www.justicepolicy.org/news/12006.
Jr., RICHARD A. OPPEL. “Private Prisons’ Cost Benefits Debated.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 May 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/us/19prisons.html.
Kirkham, Chris. “Controversial ‘Lockup Quotas’ Fuel Private Prison Profits.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 20 Sept. 2013, www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/19/private-prison-quotas_n_3953483.html.
Markowitz, Eric, and Eric Markowitz. “Making Profits on the Captive Prison Market.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 19 June 2017, www.newyorker.com/business/currency/making-profits-on-the-captive-prison-market.
Rose, Jenn. “How Much Money Do Private Prisons Make? They’re Earning Thousands Per Inmate.” Romper, Romper, 17 Dec. 2018, www.romper.com/p/how-much-money-do-private-prisons-make-theyre-earning-thousands-per-inmate-16680.
Images Cited
“1989-Today: The War on Drugs.” Libcom.org, libcom.org/history/articles/war-on-drugs.
“Private Prisons in the United States.” The Sentencing Project, www.sentencingproject.org/publications/private-prisons-united-states/.