Minute
on Prison Privatization
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Quaker organization
that works for peace and justice worldwide. Our work is based
on a commitment to nonviolence and the belief that all people
have value and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
The AFSC's programs promote social justice by focusing on a diverse
set of social concerns. The organization's criminal justice work
began in 1947 and has always focused on the need for an effective
and humane criminal justice system that emphasizes rehabilitation
over punishment.
We believe that the current state-run criminal justice system
has a number of flaws. We oppose its reliance on punishment and
the inadequate availability of rehabilitative programming and
services.
We share a concern over the increasing amount of resources directed
at the criminal justice system at the expense of education, health
care, housing, and public assistance. Currently, the Arizona Department
of Corrections (ADC) has a larger share of the state budget than
the Department of Economic Security. At the same time, programs
and services for prisoners have been consistently erased over
the past 10 years. We believe that funds should be diverted from
prison construction into rehabilitative programming, improved
nutrition and medical care, and more comprehensive discharge planning.
We also believe that the current trends in punitive sentencing
such as mandatory minimums only serve to crowd the state's prisons
with nonviolent offenders who need drug treatment rather than
five years of incarceration. Alternative sentences that provide
treatment in community settings save the state money and reduce
crime.
While we will continue to advocate for major changes to the state-run
system, we believe that privately run prisons have the same problems
as state prisons but also present a unique set of concerns.
First and foremost, we oppose companies operating correctional
facilities for the purpose of making a profit for their owners
and investors. It is inherently unethical for a private corporation
to profit from depriving human beings of their liberty. The very
nature of the arrangement invites these companies to prioritize
their profits over the needs of those in their custody. There
are numerous examples of private prison corporations cutting corners
in order to maximize their earnings, primarily through cutting
back on staff pay and training and inmate programming. These actions
lead to unrest among inmates, understaffing of facilities, and
a prison staff that is unprepared to handle potentially dangerous
situations. This combination of factors is a threat to the safety
of inmates and staff alike.
Second, we are concerned by the lesser degree to which private
corporations operating correctional facilities are required to
submit to public input and scrutiny. There is an inherent threat
to democracy when an institution with so much power over the lives
of so many individuals is immune to any public accountability.
In addition, the social marginalization of inmates-the fact that
most are poor and people of color-makes them "throw-away
people" in the eyes of many citizens. This lack of concern
serves to invite abuse and neglect with little threat of consequences
for the corporations. Our experience with criminal justice work
has taught us that abuses are less likely to occur in an environment
in which there is a high degree of public involvement. In fact,
we believe that there is an mutual obligation for citizens to
be aware of what goes on in their prisons and for the prison administration
to be accountable to the public for their policies and procedures.
While it can be very difficult to obtain information from state-run
prisons, it is ultimately possible to do so because these are
government institutions and thus are subject to laws requiring
disclosure of public information. However, private prison companies
are not currently subject to the same laws and therefore are immune
to the normal checks and balances that protect citizens from abuse
by such institutions.
Third, we are disturbed by the fact that private prison companies
are dependent on an ever-increasing supply of prisoners in order
to stay solvent. When human beings become the "raw material"
in a business, there is an inherent pressure on the company to
increase the input of people into its system. This creates a disincentive
for the companies to accomplish what most people would argue is
the mission of a correctional institution: to reform and rehabilitate
its prisoners so that they can reintegrate successfully into society.
Instead, the job security of the institutions' staff is partially
insured through a high recidivism rate. This issue is particularly
important in light of the fact that many private prison corporations
offer stock in the company rather than pensions. If our goal is
truly to lower the numbers of people engaged in criminal activity,
it seems contradictory to look to profit-driven corporations to
assist in this effort.
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