NCJ Number
202795
Date Published
November 2000
Length
40 pages
Annotation
This document discusses the influence of private prison corporations on the current incarceration boom.
Abstract
Since 1980, the United States has more than quadrupled the prison population. Nearly 1 in every 150 Americans is incarcerated today, at an annual cost of $40 billion. During this same time period, crime rates have remained steady or decreased. A major factor in the current incarceration boom appears to be the influence of private prison corporations with vested financial interests in increasing rates of imprisonment. Between 1987 and 1996, the number of inmates in private prisons soared more than 2,000 percent. By December, 1999, private prison beds numbered over 130,000. Two of the primary methods used by private prison corporations to wield influence are political campaign contributions and ideologically-loaded model legislation shaped by the same private interests that stand to profit from it. Private prison companies have deeply insinuated themselves into the political process. The factors that have contributed to their rising influence during the last two decades include the ascendancy of conservative politics, which favors privatization of many public responsibilities, including criminal justice. Another factor is the increasingly common practice of exploiting public fears about crime to gain or maintain political power. The efforts of corporate-backed think tanks to develop and disseminate pro-privatization legislative models is another factor. There is a dependency of elected officials on big-money contributors for their ongoing political careers. And there is the opportunity for profits to be made off of the criminal justice industry. A survey of 42 States that had some or all 1998 campaign contribution data available as of May, 2000 was conducted. Also surveyed were press archives for articles relevant to the growth of the private prisons; public-policy Web sites for evidence linking private prison corporations to specific legislation or a legislative agenda; and corporate filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for background on their corporations, their executives and staff, and future plans. More research is needed on lobbying and soft-money campaign contributions by these corporations, as well as their influence at the Federal level. 5 appendices, 63 endnotes