NCJ Number
126789
Journal
Federal Prisons Journal Volume: 1 Issue: 2 Dated: (Fall 1989) Pages: 17-21
Date Published
1989
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The Federal Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) practice of housing specific prison subpopulations in privately contracted facilities has the advantages of relieving overcrowding and care for subpopulations with special needs, for example, nonambulatory offenders, juveniles, prerelease offenders, jail detainees, immigration detainees, or parole violators.
Abstract
Nearly 700 BOP contracts cover over 10 percent of the Bureau's total population. Halfway houses have been used as detention centers for adult inmates within a few months of release since the 1960's; their role has been expanded to include offenders with community-based needs. Most BOP contracts are with counties for adult detention center space and for private community correctional centers (CCCs); most private contracts are for space in CCCs. The article describes two previous private secure facility contracts (Hidden Valley Ranch and Houston Processing Center) and several ongoing private secure facility contracts including Volunteers of America Regional Corrections Center, Reeves County Law Enforcement Center, and Eden Detention Center. Several of the 11 BOP contracts with private facilities for juvenile offenders are also described. From the BOP perspective, private facilities offer flexibility in controlling a rapidly increasing prison population. 2 tables and 9 references