The U.S. Justice Department announced last week that it will end the use of private prisons because *shocker* they are less safe and less effective.
Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates said in a release, “They simply do not provide the same level of correctional services, programs, and resources; they do not save substantially on costs; and as noted in a recent report by the Department’s Office of lnspector General, they do not maintain the same level of safety and security.”
Stocks of private prisons have since dropped significantly and opponents of these instiutions have rejoiced in the step towards ending what seemed like an endless prison industrial complex.
However, it is important to note that Yates is only talking about a very small fraction of inmates. Federal inmates housed in private prisons total about 22,000 individuals as according to a report by The Washington Post. Furthermore, a majority of inmates held in private prisons and private immigration detention centers, are happening at the state level.
So what happens next? Is it possible that Yates’ statement and the Office of Inspector General’s memo will create a nationwide trend in reevaluating the use of private prisons? Although the politics of each state differs with regards to how much lobbying power and influence the Correction Corporation of America holds, the DOJ is making a very loud symbolic statement with this decision.
By acknowledging the inefficiencies and detrimental impacts of the private prison industry on our society, the Justice Department just might actually be listening. The Office of Inspector General’s memo acknowledged that the federal government wasted spent $639 million on private prison contracts. This number is significant because of the recent rise in a demand to divest from the private prison industry.
A recent Movement for Black Lives policy platform titled, “Invest-Divest” outlines how a misallocation of funds can lead to more harm than safety:
“There is no evidence that the massive spending on incarceration reduces crime rates or keeps communities safer. Studies do show that jobs and education make communities stronger and keep them safer. Investments in community based drug and mental health treatment, education, universal pre-K, and other social institutions can make communities safer while improving life outcomes for all. Children who do not participate in the preschool programs are 70 percent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime by age 18. And youth who participate in summer job programs in Chicago saw a 43 percent decrease in arrests over a 16-month period. Studies show that jobs and education do not just make communities stronger — they make them safer.”
Maybe the Justice Department is ready to acknowledge and set a precedent that private prisons and high incarceration rates are a facade for safety and a blatant misuse of federal funds. I’m reaching deep inside myself for some optimism right now but maybe, just maybe, states like California and Texas, who are besties with the Corrections Corporation of America and the GEO will take these federal “findings” into account and realize that no amount of contracts or increase in incarceration spending will lead to the overall safety of their states. Maybe this federal stance coupled with the increased organizing around the prison industrial complex will compel states to accept the facts and realize they can no longer turn a blind eye to the harm they are inflicting.
