Privatization In Prison Essay

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As the ongoing solution to save taxpayers money lies on the table, one of them lies within the criminal justice system. The privatized prison system was originally established to aid government spendingand relieve prisons of overcrowded jail cells. Currently, three major private prison companies are operational throughgovernment contracts1.Statistically, these prisons hold approximately 130,000 inmates throughout the nation (Lee, 2012). By housing the high rates of criminalsconvicted each year, the private prison system profits from each individual walking inside a jail cell.The current ethical dilemma lieswhether the privatization of prisons is really profitingthe economy, contributing to taxpayer savings(as opposed to public prisons),or is it profiting the ongoing 67%2recidivism rate in …show more content…

Lobbyists contribute to establish laws that would increase the incarceration rate. More often, lobbyists are contracted by the companies to keep the inmate rate flowingfor full capacity. Supporters of this industry would argue of the timely and cheaper advantages in building prisons would be as opposed to the public sector. According to the Bureau of JusticeAssistance, it would take 2 to 3 years to build a functioning facility while government run facilities normally take up to 5 to 6 years tripling the costs and manpower hours. Byemploying lower wages and less staff paralleling costs to reduced training, private facilities operate on a reduced cost basis.Since private prisons work at their own discretion, reports are released on a need to know basis. Therefore, It is difficult to thoroughly compare the benefits of sending criminals to private prisons. Opponents would argue that if the incarcerationrate created deterrence the recidivism rate wouldn’t be as high. There are many factors that contribute to this. First, the training received does not need to meet any mandated standards, as it is not part of the

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