The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

New Castle mayor still supports Arizona prison pact

By JOY LEIKER, jleiker@muncie.gannett.com
April 25, 2007
http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070425/NEWS01/704250335/1002

NEW CASTLE -- The city of New Castle has no written plan on how to respond to an emergency at the New Castle Correctional Facility.

Mayor Tom Nipp, who previously has heralded the addition of jobs and inmates at the prison, didn't back down from that support Tuesday night, hours after Indiana and Arizona inmates had rioted inside the prison located on the city's north side.

The addition of inmates, including those from Arizona in the past six weeks, has resulted in more jobs at the prison. The mayor said that's what is important to the people of New Castle.

"Every emergency has to be dealt with individually," the mayor said, noting that the city's emergency operations plan doesn't have a specific chapter on the prison.

When an emergency occurs, Nipp said responders don't have time to review a thick book of procedures. They must do what they did Tuesday -- act. He said he was proud of how quickly his department heads and emergency officials had responded.

"An emergency plan has to be rather brief," he said as he thumbed through a copy inside his office. It's contained inside a single three-ring binder.

Nipp said off-duty personnel were called into work to be on standby at the city's fire stations and ambulance bays so they could respond to other non-prison-related calls that might come in. The city's police department was also operating with extra officers.

"My number one priority had to be to take care of my citizens," the mayor said. "We felt really comfortable that our citizens were secure."

The business is incarceration, and business is good
New Castle prison's private operator likely can weather riots like one in Indiana, analyst says

By Erika D. Smith, erika.smith@indystar.com
April 25, 2007
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070425/BUSINESS/704250485/-1/ZONES04

GEO Group, the Florida-based company that runs New Castle Correctional Facility, is one of the oldest private prison operators in North America.

Led by industry veteran George C. Zoley, considered by some to be a "grandfather" in the industry, the publicly traded company has operations around the world in industries that include prison management, health care and government services.

"They have a very strong track record of working with a number of states and other countries," said Geoff Segal, a prison-privatization expert and director of government reform for the Libertarian think tank The Reason Foundation.

In the United States alone, GEO Group runs or owns about 50 prisons, mostly in the South. The company said Monday it signed a contract to open a 1,500-bed facility in Laredo, Texas.

GEO Group is growing fast -- just like the industry.

The company, which is second only to Corrections Corp. of America in the number of prisons and prisoners it oversees, had an average two-year net revenue growth of about 22 percent.

Business is so good, in fact, that prison riots don't necessarily hurt a company financially, analysts say. Not in the long run, anyway.

"It's not the case that if you have a riot, you're going to lose a contract," said Anton Hie, an analyst with Jefferies.

GEO Group's stock price did take a hit Tuesday, though. It fell $1.12, or 2.2 percent, to close at $48.78.

Pablo Paez, a spokesman for the Boca Raton, Fla.-based company, said little about the New Castle riot, saying employees hadn't assessed the situation.

"We have policies and procedures in place," he said. "At this point, the focus is to bring the situation under control."

Privately run prisons account for about 6 percent of the U. S. prison population -- and that population is expected to grow over the next decade.

The industry is highly consolidated, and its reach is growing.

At the same time, the federal government has stopped building prisons, and states such as Arizona are discovering it's cheaper to ship their prisoners elsewhere than to build prisons of their own.

Also, states such as Indiana are starting to see private prisons as a moneymaker because demand is so high and the supply of beds is not, said Ken Kopczynski, executive director of the watchdog Private Corrections Institute.

"The market is so tight that there's a bidding war going on," he said.

GEO Group has started building more of its own facilities, in addition to managing them, as it does in New Castle.

"You can't be evicted from your own facility," Hie said.

However, Kopczynski said GEO Group faces the same problems as the rest of the industry. Turnover at private prison companies is about 50 percent, compared with about 15 percent at public prisons, he said.

"They answer to the shareholders," he said, "so they make cuts whenever possible."

Inmate imports suspended by New Castle riot

By TOM MURPHY
Wednesday, April 25, 2007 12:47 AM CDT http://nwitimes.com/articles/2007/04/25/ap-state-in/d8oneik80.txt

NEW CASTLE, Ind. - Indiana officials suspended plans to accept
hundreds of more inmates from Arizona following a two-hour riot at a
state prison run by a private company.

Authorities were investigating whether the two-hour fracas that
involved about 500 inmates started Tuesday afternoon because some of
the newly arrived prisoners from Arizona were upset about their
treatment at the medium-security men's prison.

The riot, during which two staff members and seven prisoners suffered
minor injuries, involved inmates from both states, and none escaped
from the New Castle Correctional Facility, officials said.

Prison guard Larry Savage said he, two other guards and three
maintenance workers barricaded themselves in a room as dozens of
inmates tried to break in before a prison response team arrived about
15 minutes later.

"They were wrapped up in masks, with sticks, knives, shanks," Savage
said of the inmates. "They were just flexing their muscles and they
wanted to show that they could take the prison over at any time, and
that's what they did."

Inmates set mattresses and paper afire in the courtyard and destroyed
furniture, broke windows as some armed themselves with clubs before
the prison was secured, officials said.

Indiana Department of Correction Commissioner J. David Donahue said
the riot began after a group of inmates from Arizona took off their
shirts in the prison's recreation area to show staff they wouldn't
comply with orders. They had been told to keep the shirts on.

Some troubles continued hours after order was restored, as at one
point the staff set off several percussion grenades inside the prison
after some inmates became unruly, Donahue said.

The disturbance occurred six weeks after the first of some 600
Arizona inmates began joining 1,050 Indiana prisoners at the facility
about 45 miles east of Indianapolis.

Donahue said he has delayed the transfer of 600 more inmates from
Arizona until authorities can reassess the condition of the prison.

"This system is different than what they are accustomed to," Donahue
said.

Indiana House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, criticized the
Daniels administration's decision to take in inmates from Arizona.

"You are bringing outside elements into a prison situation and also
bringing their gangs and their culture," Bauer said. "These prisoners
also have friends and families (back in Arizona). I think it was
inevitable. ... I think it was a bad idea from a financial standpoint
of view and a social point of view."

Some of the newly arrived inmates had complained about a lack of
recreation and other programs, said Trina Randall, a spokeswoman for
GEO Group Inc., the Boca Raton, Fla.-based company that in January
2006 took over the prison's management.

The injured staff members suffered cuts and scrapes, while the
injuries to inmates involved tear gas exposure and minor cuts. All
seven inmates were treated at the prison, Randall said.

Arizona Department of Corrections spokeswoman Katie Decker said at
least some of the transferred inmates had complained about being
moved, which was prompted by the state's shortage of prison space.
She said the inmates sent to New Castle were "carefully picked"
before being transferred and could have "no predisposition to violence."

Gov. Mitch Daniels praised the response by prison staff and police
agencies to the disturbance.

"Corrections is a high-risk business managing high-risk offenders,"
Daniels said in a statement. "These events always remind us of the
unseen bravery and service of those who protect us by guarding those
who have harmed society in the past."

Indiana's agreement with Arizona came nearly three months after a
plan fell through under which California was to send 1,260 of its
inmates to the prison. That plan was scrapped because of a lawsuit
against California over the possible transfer and a lack of inmates
willing to volunteer to make the cross-country move.

Savage, the prison guard, credited the prison's emergency team with
saving his life.

"Our weapons team kept them down," he said. "Because of them I get to
go home tonight and see my three kids and my wife."

Associated Press writers Charles Wilson in New Castle, Ken Kusmer and
Mike Smith in Indianapolis and Bob Christie in Phoenix contributed to
this story.

Doubts smolder in day of mayhem
Hundreds riot at New Castle prison

By Tim Evans, Karen Eschbacher and Vic Ryckaert, tim.evans@indystar.com
April 25, 2007
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070425/LOCAL1803/704250424/0/ZONES04

NEW CASTLE, Ind. -- A riot Tuesday by Arizona inmates at the New Castle Correctional Facility is the latest in a string of uprisings by prisoners shipped to other states and has renewed debate over the practice in Indiana.

Department of Correction officials said nine people -- two prison workers and seven inmates -- suffered minor injuries in separate disturbances involving a total of about 500 Arizona and Indiana prisoners during a two-hour period Tuesday afternoon.

State officials have temporaryily halted the transfer of any additional out-of-state prisoners to New Castle as they investigate the incident.

Commissioner J. David Donahue said the Arizona prisoners may have been upset because Indiana prisons have different rules, including a ban on smoking and limits on personal items inmates can have in their cells.

The Arizona prisoners are kept separate from Indiana inmates at the facility 50 miles east of Indianapolis.

The riot prompted a legislative leader to call for the state to cancel the Arizona deal.

"The idea of bringing in people from another state who bring along their gangs, allegiances and different alliances immediately was a mixture that was bound to bring trouble," said House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend.

But even before Tuesday's riot, Arizona officials had decided to temporarily stop sending inmates to the New Castle prison because a recent visit raised "serious security concerns."

Dora Schriro, director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, visited the New Castle Correctional Facility on Thursday and found insufficient staffing for her state's 630 inmates, said Katie Decker, a spokeswoman with the department. Schriro also was concerned about where officers were stationed.

Arizona is paying Indiana $6.1 million to house its inmates. Gov. Mitch Daniels and others supported the deal in part because the prison was only about half-full.

The New Castle prison is state-owned, but Indiana contracts with GEO Group of Florida to operate it. The first 104 prisoners from Arizona arrived March 12.

Decker, the Arizona corrections spokeswoman, said Arizona would prefer to keep its prisoners in-state but can't accommodate the growing inmate population. Arizona also sends some inmates to a prison in Oklahoma.

Tuesday's disturbance is the latest example of riots led by prisoners shipped to other states for incarceration. There have been at least five similar riots since 2000, including two in the past four years involving Arizona inmates.

The incident has also raised concerns about the state's contract with a private firm managing the New Castle facility.

The state signed a contract with GEO Group in September 2005 to run the prison for four years with an option for three two-year extensions. Officials with the company declined to comment Tuesday on the riot.

Daniels, a Republican, said the fact that the prison is privately managed did not have anything to do with the riot, and his office released a history of disturbances at government-managed Indiana correctional facilities to help support his point.

"In fact, the management there responded beautifully, as did the public authorities," said Daniels, who has sought to privatize parts of state government.

But Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker disagreed and said privatization of the prison likely contributed.

"What happened today is a tragedy. I think it all ties back to the fact that (the governor) has privatized essential government services," Parker said.

House Minority Leader Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, cautioned people not to rush to judgment.

"I think we need to find out exactly what happened, who is responsible and how prison officials reacted," he said. "This is not the first prison riot in national history, nor is it the last."

Tuesday's trouble began about 2 p.m. as a group of Arizona inmates became defiant as they were being moved from a dining hall to their cellblocks, said Donahue, the DOC commissioner.

Donahue said many of the inmates began removing their shirts, apparently in a show of solidarity for the "noncompliance," and one guard was either knocked or pushed to the ground.

A group of Indiana inmates -- who are separated from the Arizona prisoners by fences -- became aware of the disturbance, and about 500 of the prison's 1,668 inmates became involved, he said.

Donahue said some rioters were armed with pool cues, mop handles and broomsticks. Some threw billiard balls. Rioters broke scores of windows and set several outdoor fires before guards used a chemical agent to quell the disturbance.

Guards first isolated the areas of disruption, giving inmates time to settle down, Donahue said. The guards are employees of GEO.

"We don't want to put additional folks at risk, he said.

It's not unusual for flare-ups at privately run prisons with out-of-state inmates, said Ken Kopczynski, executive director of the watchdog Private Corrections Institute.

For one, prisoners often end up far away from their relatives and friends, making visits difficult.

"How do you expect the family to stay in touch," he said, "when they're in Arizona and they have to fly all the way to Indiana?"

In addition, companies such as GEO Group have different rules, based on the contracts they have with different states. For example, prisoners from one state might be allowed to have food more times per day or better medical care than prisoners from another state.

Guards did keep the prison populations apart, as all management companies are required to do, but that rarely stops the flow of information, Kopczynski said.

Once one group learns the guards are treating another group better, prisoners can become resentful, angry and violent. That kind of unequal treatment doesn't usually happen in public prisons, because the prisoners are from the same state.

But transferring prisoners out of state is becoming more common as states run out of beds and seek cheaper alternatives to building new prisons.

Donna Leone Hamm, director of Middle Ground Prison Reform, an Arizona-based nonprofit inmate advocacy group, said Tuesday's riot didn't surprise her.

She said her organization has been contacted by inmates and their relatives who said prisoners were shipped off to Indiana against their will and with little notice.

Because Arizona transports its least troublesome prisoners, well-behaved inmates felt they were being punished for playing by the rules, Hamm said. In addition, some couldn't bring along personal property, including televisions, she said.

Katherine Farabaugh's fiance, Mikel Gibson, was transferred to Indiana more than a month ago.

"I had talked to him the day before, and I got a call the next morning saying, 'I'm in Indiana,' " the Arizona woman said. "They took him with nothing but the clothes on his back and shipped him on a plane like cattle."

Gibson has less than seven months to go on a three-year sentence for burglary.

Star reporters Erika Smith, Kevin O'Neal, Mary Beth Schneider, Theodore Kim and Bill Ruthhart and the Arizona Republic contributed to this story.

IMPORTING INMATES

The state signed an agreement last month to house Arizona prisoners at the privately managed prison in New Castle. The first 104 prisoners arrived March 12; 1,200 were expected altogether. About 600 have arrived so far.

• Indiana's end of the deal: Indiana is to receive an average of $64 per prisoner per day from Arizona. The one-year contract is supposed to generate $6.1 million in revenue for Indiana and can be terminated at any time if Indiana needs the space for in-state offenders. Gov. Mitch Daniels said the agreement would create 230 jobs at the facility.

• Arizona's end: The state has about 36,000 people incarcerated, roughly 5,000 more than the system is designed to hold, according to Katie Decker, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Department of Corrections. The state's prison population could grow by more than a third by the end of 2011, according to a report released this year by the nonprofit Pew Charitable Trusts.

• Other details: Arizona prisoners were to be kept separate from Indiana inmates. Only medium- to minimum-security adult inmates were to be sent to Indiana -- those who had committed crimes such as burglary, robbery and aggravated assault. Not to be transferred: inmates classified as high-risk offenders, sex offenders or those with escape histories or recent history of prison disciplinary action.

ABOUT NEW CASTLE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY

• Established: 2002.
• Security level: Medium.
• Capacity: 2,416.
• Inmates: A total of 1,668 inmates, including the Arizona inmates, live at the prison.
• Housing: Dormitories.
• Management: It's state-owned but privately managed by The GEO Group, a Florida-based company. It is the only prison in the state that is privately managed.

OTHER RIOTS INVOLVING OUT-OF-STATE INMATES

The riot Tuesday at the New Castle Correctional Facility is the latest uprising involving prisoners moved from one state to another.

Since 2000, at least five similar riots have taken place in other states:

• September 2004: Inmates at the Lee Adjustment Center, a private prison in Beattyville, Ky., burned the facility's administration building and caused extensive damage to a dorm during a riot. Twenty-six inmates -- 15 from Vermont and 11 from Kentucky -- faced charges. The riot occurred after several hundred Vermont inmates were added to the prison.

• July 2004: A riot occurred at the $47 million Crowley County Correctional Facility in Colorado shortly after the arrival of new inmates from Washington state. Thirteen inmates needed treatment, including one with a severe stab wound, but no one was killed.

• May 2004: More than 500 Arizona inmates rioted at the Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga, Okla., a private prison where more than 1,200 Arizona inmates were being housed because of crowding at state facilities. The riot lasted several hours, and dozens of inmates were injured.

•January 2003: An uprising by 82 Arizona inmates at a private prison in Texas caused $15,000 in damage. Inmates flooded dorms, tore up mattresses, destroyed TV sets and broke windows at the Newton County Correctional Center.

• September 2000: As many as 20 inmates from Hawaii smashed windows, computers and TV sets at an Arizona prison after an inmate complained about the way his rice was cooked. Three people were injured, including a guard, who was captured and assaulted.

Source: Nexis news archives

New Castle site only recently a prison

By RODNEY RICHEY, rodney.richey@heraldbulletin.com
April 24, 2007
http://www.theheraldbulletin.com/local/local_story_114212248.html

The private firm that assumed control of the New Castle Correctional Facility in 2006 — The Geo Group Inc., formerly Wackenhut — signed the agreement at the end of September 2005. The contract covered an initial term of four years, with three two-year extensions.

The 2,416-bed, medium-security facility was taken over by GEO in January 2006. For many years, the site itself had been occupied by the New Castle State Developmental Center. In its history, that facility had also been known as New Castle State Hospital and the Indiana Village for Epileptics.

The $123 million medium-security prison, which opened in 2002, was designed to house more than 1,800 inmates and employ about 750 state workers.

Florida-based GEO Group describes itself as “a world leader in the delivery of correctional, detention and residential treatment services to federal, state and local government agencies around the globe. GEO offers a turnkey approach that includes design, construction, financing and operations.”

The corporation also reportedly serves governments in Australia, South Africa, Canada and Great Britain, operating 63 correctional and residential treatment facilities in North America.

GEO changed its name from Wackenhut — a company that had been the target of some criticism for its stern procedures in operating prisons, including a scathing 2002 report on CBS’ “60 Minutes II” — in November 2003. Wackenhut reportedly still operates security guard services in many states, but is no longer connected with GEO.

(Information supplied by the Indiana Department of Correction Web site, the GEO Group Web site and the CBS News Web site, as well as other Internet sources.)