Prison bed profiteers: How corporations are reshaping criminal justice in the U.S.

"Private prisons do not provide a consistently improved experience for inmates or staff compared to public facilities, and, in many cases, the experience can be worse," the National Council on Crime and Delinquency contends in a new report. NCCD said its report on private prisons, which hold about 8 percent of the nation's correctional population, was based on conversations with several experts, a review of the academic and legal literature on private prisons, and a media review of newspaper and radio stories. The report was funded by the Public Welfare Foundation.



An excerpt from Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), Letter to Shareholders, 2011:
"We remain very positive about the outlook for CCA and the private corrections industry. We believe market dynamics continue to favor the clear value that partnership with CCA provides to local, state, and federal governments. Government budgets remain tight in the coming year. Funding new prisons is viewed by many lawmakers as diverting scarce capital resources from other critical infrastructure needs…CCA can help them meet their corrections needs efficiently, safely, and humanely.

Public prisons are overcrowded and inmate populations are growing, yet states did not allocate funding for new correctional facilities in 2011, and new budget appropriations for 2012 look equally challenging for funding new facilities. In contrast, CCA has made significant investments in adding new prison beds resulting in an ample supply of available beds, and we believe our ability to quickly address the demand for new prison beds, our reputation for providing safe and secure facilities, and our leadership position in the industry will provide us with continued opportunities to provide an essential service with earnings growth for investors." 
 http://nccdglobal.org/sites/default/files/publication_pdf/prison-bed-profiteers.pdf