The Justice Department Is Going To Stop Using Private Prisons

The Justice Department Is Going To Stop Using Private Prisons

Damn! This is awesome guys!

WASHINGTON ― The Justice Department plans to stop using privately run prisons that typically house undocumented federal inmates following a report finding they are less safe than those that are federally run, Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates said Thursday.

Yates said the Justice Department’s goal is “reducing — and ultimately ending — our use of privately operated prisons,” according to a memo Yates issued Thursday. The memo was first reported by The Washington Post.

“Private prisons served an important role during a difficult period, but time has shown that they compare poorly to our own Bureau facilities. They simply do not provide the same level of correctional services, programs, and resources; they do not save substantially on costs; and as noted in a recent report by the Department’s Office of Inspector General, they do not maintain the same level of safety and security,” Yates wrote in the memo.

This is pretty cool. The DOJ is going to start getting rid of for-profit prisons. Good riddance! Those things have been a stain on our corrections industry for a LONG time. PLUS the elimination of these #ty places will reduce the need for minimum capacity levels for prisons. Though this article is just talking about the DOJ. I'm not sure if this will apply to state-run for-profit prisons. I'm guessing they'll still be legal and operable though.

Stock prices of the country’s two biggest private prison companies ― Corrections Corporation of America and GEO Group ― nosedived by nearly 25 percent Thursday morning. Other big players in the industry ― including Emerald Correctional Management, Management & Training Corporation, Community Education Centers and LaSalle Southwest Corrections ― are privately held companies.

Oh yeah. Now that these jokers are going to go broke, that will remove or greatly hinder one of the lobbies standing in the way of marijuana legalization and the end of the war on drugs!

It almost seems way too good to be true.

I'd never thought I'd see the day, still can't fully believe it until I see it happen.

Now all we need to do is end the war on drugs and we can call ourselves a free country again with a straight face.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Almost sounds too good to be true

The problems at private facilities were hardly a secret, and Yates said Justice Department and Bureau of Prisons officials had been talking for months about discontinuing their use. Mother Jones recently published a 35,000-word exposé detailing a reporter’s undercover work as a private prison guard in Louisiana — a piece that found serious deficiencies. The Nation magazine wrote earlier this year about deaths under questionable circumstances in privately operated facilities.

Will be interesting to see the fallout and lobbying that happens next

Seriously - this is so rational. How?

:-)

a reply to: Spiramirabilis

I've been reading around since I first read about this and found out that this only applies to federal prisons and not state ones. Also it is merely the DOJ not renewing the lease. So it's not like a switch is getting flipped and tomorrow there won't be any private prisons in the country.

NPR

The Justice Department announcement will not touch the vast majority of prisoners in the country who are incarcerated by state and local authorities. But federal officials hope their decision will be a model across the correctional field.

Last month, the DOJ declined to renew a contract for 1,200 prison beds in a private facility. And it is making changes to a new contract bid to reduce the size of demand there, too.

Election trick.

Won't be happening.

This is awesome! I know someone associated with a prison in Alabama. He routinely sees food crates labeled "not for human consumption" going in. Its a really great system they have there. The warden is given a monthly allotment for food. Anything he doesn't spend - he gets to keep. Whoever thought of that should be at the head of the intake line...

a reply to: Vroomfondel

Naw he should be at the back. Don't want him getting first pick of the "good" stuff after all.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Let's just hope it's a shift in thinking - and then application

But, we all know, money will win out in the end

originally posted by: Spiramirabilis
a reply to: Krazysh0t

Let's just hope it's a shift in thinking - and then application

But, we all know, money will win out in the end

I have a feeling like they will hang around in conservative strong hold states where tough on crime attitudes still have a huge hold over the populace.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

You're so right. Tough on crime means: we will make sure there are plenty of prisoners to fill your fabulous prisons

I hate this planet

:-)

Sorry to devolve your OP - I'm going to go and try to do something useful now...

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Thats great news!

About damn time. Lets see the legal system reflect this now that there is no cash cow incentive to fill prisons to above capacity.

Hopefully non criminals will win and not have to get raped and beaten bloody for smokig pot and such.

As of right now it looks like it's only federal for profit prisons. So a grand total of 13 I believe. That said, I'm sure some states will use this as a catalyst.

originally posted by: Xcalibur254
As of right now it looks like it's only federal for profit prisons. So a grand total of 13 I believe. That said, I'm sure some states will use this as a catalyst.

Remember "Kids for Cash". A corrupt judge sent over 3000 teenagers to jail just simply because they appeared in front of him. He got kickbacks from the private prison in return. After being caught he was given 28 years.

en.m.wikipedia.org...

a reply to: Krazysh0t

If true, this can be a solid first step. The wording in the opening sentence makes it seem like it's just for the immigration detention centers, though (which can have absolutely horrid conditions). But the wording later in the article seems to refer to all privately run prisons. Once I find the time, I'll look for more sources to see which category they mean.

Anytime there's a financial incentive to imprison people, corruption will surely follow. Society should be focusing on reducing the causes of crimes and rehabilitation, rather than trying to trap and punish people.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

From what I've been reading immigration prisons are mostly for profit prisons so to answer your question, both would be shut down. Meanwhile state run for-profit prisons will remain open. It is up to the states to cancel funding to them.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Good good good. I've been railing against the immigration detention centers in real life for a while now.

i live in a town with multiple prisons, both privately run federal prisons and BOP facilities. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that the private prisons completely suck on every level when held up against the BOP prisons. The quality of the employees, the oversight, the training....

The only thing that "privatizing" did is put less money in the pockets of the prison guards, and more in the pockets of some middle men with a powerful lobby.

Good news, indeed.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

I just hate everything that has to do with for-profit prisons. One of the worst ideas our government has ever come up with, and it makes me leery to trust other conservative ideas to privatize different government programs.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

I don't buy into these headlines. Smoke and mirrors... there are only 13 Federal prisons that are run by private companies. The DOJ is telling officials to decline renewing the contracts with these prisons, or to "substantially reduce" the scope of these contracts IF they renew (which they still can do).

Look how easily everybody cheers and applauds.. nothing has even actually happened other than the DOJ saying they are instructing people to make some changes, to a few privately-run prisons

To me, this all seems like sensationalized headlines to make the public happy because so many people are waking up to the systemic corruption in US government.

It's an election year too, Democrats can use this as more Ammo. This puzzle piece fits in quite nicely with that assumption. Although I wish it were as good as it sounds, I'm afraid it's Not