The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

* The bill had identified a wish list for private prisons to:

* Comply with state capacity and construction standards.

* Immediately notify the Arizona Dept. of Corrections about any major incidents at any prison, and allow state officials to investigate. Prisons who did not comply with this law could face stiff penalties.

* Not be allowed to house inmates classified as maximum security, were convicted of a sexual offense, or any offense that would be a Class 1 or 2 felony in the state or Arizona (e.g. murder), have a history of escape, rioting, or are infected with HIV, hepatitis, or tuberculosis.

* Not be allowed to release another state's inmates in Arizona.

* Have to provide the Arizona Dept. of Corrections with profiles and other information on each and every prisoner that private prisons incarcerate.

Though this particular one died, it isn't the first time state lawmakers have introduced bills similar to SB 1142. Besides the last two years, legislation had been introduced trying to regulate private prisons in Arizona even as far as 10 years ago. That recycled, decade-old bill was introduced by then-senator Pete Rios (D-Hayden). But since then, Rios has done an about-face, and voiced a strong dissent for SB 1142 this time around.

The initial concerns he had had that had moved him to introduce that bill 10 years ago have been greatly alleviated after seeing the effect CCA has had on area communities they've decided to site their prisons. They provide jobs, he says, a good wage, and fringe benefits.

"But more importantly, we have not had a major problem with prisoners escaping...The fact remains that we have not experienced what I feared 11 years ago," Rios stated in an interview with the Enterprise last week.

"Certainly, public safety is our number one issue - making sure that we're safe and secure has to be number one," Brad Regens, CCA lobbyist told the Enterprise last month when asked about the security lapse at the Florence incident possibly inspiring the bill. "I think if you look at our record, we've been very successful, both in Arizona and nationwide. Even the state of Arizona itself contracts with us. We hold about 2,100 Arizona inmates in Oklahoma. I think they entrust us with their offenders, because they know that we are operating a professional environment, and we're safe and secure."

He added that the escape in September was "unfortunate," and was glad that no one was hurt.

"No system wants to see that. When those kinds of things happen, everyone re-examines themselves and looks at their operations and makes sure that if there are any changes that need to be made, that they are made."

The bill also seemed to stem from a discomfort on the part of the state of being unaware of the kinds of inmates being shipped into Arizona, with neither city nor state governments having a say in it.

California is a state that does not allow any private prisons at all for fear of security - which would explain the overcrowding. But despite the state's disallowance of private prisons inside state borders, it hasn't stopped them from utilizing private correctional centers out of state. Case-in-point, CCA's newest prison under construction in Eloy, La Palma, will be housing over 3,000 medium level risk California prisoners once it is complete. Without that option, California would be in a bind.

And those additional heads will count as part of the city's population, boosting up state shared revenue funds to Eloy, and bolster rank in local political decision making.

But Rios doesn't believe that restricting inmates for private prisons is the answer, but rather more open communication between the two entities; especially since state prisons would be housing the very types of prisoners denied private prisons.

"What I would support is a little bit more sharing of information that possibly CCA could do a little better job at. Let local law enforcement know what type of inmates you do have in case they do have an escapee, and the Pinal County Sheriff's Office knows readily because it's in their computer base who this guy is, what he looks like, and what he's in for."

Locally, though, the Eloy Police Department feels they've been communicating extremely well with CCA.

"I believe CCA has been open with us as to what they are doing and any issues that arise or may arise," Police Chief Bill Pitman comments. "They have always informed us of major events, such as getting large numbers of new inmates or having us on alert for an internal operation. I believe we have a good rapport with the CCA wardens and administrators. We meet on an as-needed basis, so that we know what to expect from each other.

"As to what information the public receives, that is up to CCA."

Another major concern that Rios expressed was that CCA could curtail, if not completely stop, further expansion in Arizona, "and would take their facilities to other states that did not have those types of restrictions."

And his concerns are indeed valid. According to a study provided by CCA at last month's Economic Development Group of Eloy (EDGE) meeting, the company has invested a lot over the last 15 years in Arizona, specifically Pinal County. Should the company pack up and leave (at worse case scenario), the economical benefits would go with it.

CCA provides more than 2,300 stable jobs in the state, and is ranked one of the top 60 employers in the state, and in the top 10 in Pinal County. Its payroll is in excess of $100 million, pays approx. $7 million in property taxes, and $8.5 million in annual utility payments, with $21 million of onetime transaction privilege tax payments on three major prison projects going right now in Arizona.

Eloy, too, benefits greatly. The new La Palma facility will provide more than $1 million in construction related fees including: approx. $600,000 in onetime standard impact fees, which covers additional fire and police services, over $500,000 in building permit fees, and will increase the city's population by about 10 percent for additional state shared revenue funds without directly costing the city for infrastructure or upkeep. Almost 2,000 jobs are located in CCA's four Eloy prisons, 90 percent of whom are local hires.

Residents have expressed a contentedness with the prisons in their community, which supply jobs and help stimulate the local economy, Rios adds. Locals have told him that prison jobs "'beat the heck out of working out in the field,' where many of these people had to work before."

Eloy mayor, Byron Jackson, had been in continual contact with the governor's office since the bill had been proposed, but wasn't completely sold on the idea, either.

"I have always been supportive of pretty much anything the governor has ran by me that could potentially have an impact on my community," Jackson says, "but I did have some concerns about some of the stipulations that would be placed on private prisons - CCA in particular. It could have a substantial effect on CCA's ability to management certain inmates in the city of Eloy, which is CCA's largest hub of private prisons in Arizona.

"I am sure the bill will rise again, and honestly, I do believe the Department of Corrections should have some regulatory applications that all private prison should be accountable, too, but as written; as the mayor of the city, and having some knowledge of private corrections, I just don't believe all of the stipulations listed have validity."

Jackson expressed a willingness to sit down with the governor and Arizona Department of Corrections Director Dora Schriro before speaking with CCA, "so we can be on the same page to mediate any future conversations that possibly could lead to some sort of compromise in the future."

Arizona, like many other states, sends its prisoners to other states for incarceration due to overcrowding. And one caveat Arizona State Rep. Rios adds is the idea of reciprocal legislative action on the part of partnering states.

"Are we sending just the darlings of the correctional server system [to other states]? No, we're sending some real bad guys to other facilities, as well. What's to keep Oklahoma and some of the others making the same restriction for Arizona inmates?

"So, we got to be careful what we start-because once you start rolling this ball down the hill, it's going to be awfully hard to stop."
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19409687&BRD=1817&PAG=461&dept_id=222077&rfi=6

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