Nowadays, the problem of immigration both legal and illegal has led to many more significant problems in the American society. Among these problems is the problem of housing detainees. According to Berestein (2008), the amount of detainees registered in 2004 was over 30,000 people. This requires developing new solutions, and creating new policies in order to solve such significant problems. Recently, a number of specialists found a way to handle the problem of overcrowdedness by means of private prisons. In the following paper, the issues that are rife in connection with contracting out to private prisons will be examined along with the pros and cons of private prisons’ functioning. Overall, after the evaluation of situation, it appears that in connection with operating private imprisoning facilities, a row of such complicated issues as economical profitability, corresponding to the federal standards of quality for such establishments, and defining the categories of detainees who may be placed to such establishments are raised.
The Issues that are Related to Contracting out to Private Prisons
Private prisons are many times reported to save millions of dollars a year for the American economy (Gran & Henry, 2007). This is explained by the fact that on a daily basis, $31 per day is spent to house only one illegal immigrant waiting for his or her extradition (Berestein, 2008). Of course, housing endless amounts of immigrants coming from the most diversified lands of our planet requires spending millions of dollars from American federal budget. However, if the prisons that are used for keeping such detainees are private then American economy does not have to suffer such great loss. In contrast, numerous organizations conducted their independent researches to prove that in reality, there exist no difference to cost-efficiency between public prisons and private ones (Volokh, 2008). According to Volokh (2008), some studies proved that the expectations concerning economical effectiveness of private prisons did not materialize, and some researches proved that operating private prisons is even more expensive for the country than it is in the case with public prisons. As a result, the first and the main issue that is connected to contracting out to private prisons is economical interest.
Contracting out to private prisons is also connected to another group of issues rather than economical ones. Unfortunately, many cases are registered when the conditions in private prisons led to people’s deaths. Numerous facts show that very often such establishments are overcrowded. Besides, the level of medical service in such establishments is often reported as lower than it is allowed by the existing legislative norms. Similar problem exists with the quality of food and drinks served in private prisons. As a result, it appears that very often the conditions in private prisons for detainees are much worse than the conditions in federal prisons for criminals.
Besides, some specialists are concerned that not all illegal immigrants are simply detainees. Many of them are found to be members of illegal formations and gangs. According to Campbell (2009, 36), “within security threat groups, race or culture is no exception, as evidenced by such groups as the Aryan Brotherhood, Black Guerrilla Family and Mexican Mafia”. This means that among the detainees placed to private prisons, there exists a probability of appearing real criminals formed from citizens of the other countries.
The Pros of Private Prisons Existence
Numerous specialists state that private prisons help more efficient use of federal costs because they create a basis for economy while housing detainees. According to Berestein (2008, par. 10),
The savings are substantial: According to ICE, it cost $87.99 per day on average in fiscal year 2007 to hold someone at a contract detention facility, while it cost roughly $119.28 a day to house a person at an ICE-run facility.
In addition, as federal prisons often appear to be overcrowded on the reason of illegal immigration, the implementation of private imprisoning facilities assists solving this serious problem. Besides, public prisons are full of criminals whose negative example and conduct may be of great harm for people who are ordained to be imprisoned on the reason of becoming illegal immigrants.
The Cons of Private Prisons Existence
Operating private prisons is connected to a number of negative points. First of all, federal organizations fail to control the level of standards of keeping detainees in private prisons on a regular basis (Berestein, 2008). This leads to many related problems. The activists from numerous public organizations state that the conditions in many private prisons are worse than in federal ones because the management of such establishments has their primary aim in guarantying economical benefits for them. As a result, these facilities are often overcrowded. Detainees have poor food ration and medical assistance. There exists many cases when such conditions became a reason for multiple deaths. For example, Mr. Yusif Osman died at Otay Mesa in 2006. According to Berestein (2008, par.24),
It took personnel more than an hour to call 911 after Osman’s cellmate began asking for help. The report claims that Osman was seen on his knees, and that a medical supervisor, upon finding no medical history on him, “informed the control officer to have Mr. Osman file a request to seek medical assistance.”
Regrettably, such sad cases are not rare. The other facts show that during a few month in 2004, 57 people died in private imprisoning facilities (Berestein, 2008).
Further, the question is whether those who appear in private prisons correspond to the requirements for arrestees who may be kept in such felicities. Usually, private prisons are used for detainees convicted on the reason of illegal immigration to the country. However, the cases are registered when real criminals were found among illegal immigrants. This suggests that private prisons may appear to be hothouses of actual criminality.
In addition, the debate is still heated around the real efficiency of private imprisoning facilities. Despite the facts shown by such federal agencies as the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, there exist opinions that private prisons are not so economically profitable. Many public organizations conducted their own researches, and found that the expenses by private prisons were equal to federal prisons’ expenses or even bigger.
Conclusion
Operating private imprisoning facilities is connected with a number of serious issues such as economical profitability, corresponding to the federal standards of quality for such establishments, and defining the categories of convicted who may be placed to such establishments. Along with significant pros of private prisons which is seen in their economical profitability, serious cons exist. Among them are insufficient conditions of keeping detainees in private prisons including poor food supply and low quality medical support leading to repeated cases of deaths amid the kept ones.
References
Berestein, L. (2008). Lawsuits Raise Questions About Private Prisons / Immigration Agency, Contractors Are Accused of Mistreating Detainees. San Diego Union – Tribune. San Diego. Web.
Campbell, S. (2009). One Clique: Why Rivals on the Streets Become Allies Behind Bars. Corrections Today, February, 36-38.
Gran, B. & Henry, W. (2007). Holding Private Prisons Accountable: A Socio-Legal Analysis of “Contracting out” Prisons. Social Justice, 34(3/4).
Volokh, A. (2008). Privatization and the Law and Economics of Political Advocacy. Stanford Law Review, 60 (4).