Just the Facts: Prison Privatization*

Current Trends

• Private corrections tend to be located in Southern and Western U.S. regions
• 30 U.S. states, Puerto Rico & D.C. have 158 facilities
• Most active states with privatization are Texas (43), California (23), Florida (10) and Colorado (9)
• Less than 5% - 52,370 inmates – are housed in private facilities of U.S. prisons
• 186 privately operated correctional facilities in the world holding a total of 132,346 inmates
• Total revenue allocated to private prisons and jails is $1 billion

Research Findings

• Privately operated prisons function as well as publically operated prisons
• Operating costs of privately owned prisons can reduce expenditures in markets where public employee benefit rates are high
• Management problems in privatized prisons are linked to poorly drafted contracts, lack of oversight and improperly classified transfer of inmates
• Private entities can construct facilities faster and cheaper than public sector
• Presence of private prisons has encouraged public facilities to adopt cost saving strategies in the areas of staff deployment and procurement policies

National Survey Results

• Majority of privately operated prisons (not jails or detention centers) are relatively new with bed capacities of 800 or less and designed for medium and minimum custody inmates
• Privately operated prisons function similarly to publically owned prisons with respect to program and work participation by inmates and distribution of staff by key functional areas
• Private facilities have lower staffing levels, lower salaries and a higher rate of assaults on staff and inmates, and these are not necessarily safer or better managed

Future Trends

• Number of privatized prisons is likely to increase, but not at the pace exhibited during the past decade
• Number of privatized prison companies is likely to decrease as competition and costs increase, forcing a consolidation of firms within the industry
• Unlikely that privatized prisons will develop a strong market in the high security inmate population market
• Important inroads can be expected for the private sector within low security medical, mental health and geriatric inmate populations

*Select Highlights from Dr. Jim Austin’s presentation to CSG-WEST Fiscal Affairs Committee, Sun Valley, 1999.

 More info can be found in CSG-WEST's report "Private Prison Costs"