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October 18, 2008
OK: Lawmakers say private prisons can save the state money
Lawmakers say private prisons can save the state money
October 16th, 2008
Tulsa Beacon
Private prisons are safer and can be built and operated at much lower costs than public prisons, the two highest-ranking public safety lawmakers noted after recently touring a privately controlled correctional facility in Lawton.
State Representatives Rex Duncan and T.W. Shannon, the chair and vice-chair respectively of the House of Representatives Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, visited the Lawton Correctional Facility to gain a better understanding of how private prisons can save taxpayer dollars and increase safety throughout the state.
“It’s an eye-opening experience to learn how well some of our private prisons are operated,” said Shannon, R-Lawton. “Private prisons place far less burden on the public and increase safety among our prison employees and within our communities. I’m very encouraged by what I learned and I think we have an opportunity to use these lessons to move our state forward and improve our correctional system as a whole.”
Several studies have shown private prisons generate cost savings of 15 to 25 percent on construction and 10 to 15 percent on management compared to publicly operated facilities.
Not only do private prisons potentially save taxpayers millions of dollars each year, the competition also forces public prisons to innovate and lower costs, noted Duncan.
“Competition breeds excellence,” said Duncan, R-Sand Springs. “Our current correctional system could be more effective and more efficient, and I believe the private-prison system could begin taking us in that direction.”
Studies by the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice have shown that states with a greater share of inmates housed in private prisons have lower overall costs of housing public prisoners.
In addition, states without any private prisons see per-prisoner cost increases on average of 9 percent per year, compared with a 4 percent per-prisoner annual increase among states that operate both public and private prisons.
Shannon said those average cost increases are more than compelling support for the state to begin considering expansion of private prison usage throughout the state.
“Currently, it costs nearly $18,000 per year to house a single inmate in our state prison system, and the experts believe our prison system will continue to expand by nearly 1,000 inmates per year,” said Shannon. “That is an additional $18 million of taxpayer money spent each year that could be used for other needs. It’s time to take a hard look at using private prisons so we can bring our state to the national forefront as a model of effective corrections management.”
The Oklahoma Criminal Justice Resource Center reports that the state’s current prison population is approximately 24,463. Of those, fewer than 6,000 inmates are housed in private prisons.
http://www.tulsabeacon.com/?p=1035
Posted by lois at October 18, 2008 10:10 AM