Federal report: private prisons more dangerous than public ones

[Ted King]

http://www.vox.com/2016/8/12/12454410/pr...estigation

“We found that in a majority of the categories we examined, contract prisons incurred more safety and security incidents per capita than comparable BOP institutions,” the report concluded, based on its analysis of 14 private prisons and 14 public prisons from fiscal years 2011 to 2014.
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The OIG report isn’t the first to indicate private prisons are worse off, although it is the most recent one. A 2001 report from the Department of Justice found the rate of inmate-on-inmate violence at private prisons was 38 percent higher than the rate at public prisons. And in a four-month undercover investigation, reporter Shane Bauer witnessed high levels of violence — particularly stabbings, which seemingly went underreported in official numbers — and lockdowns at a private prison in Louisiana.

The problem in private facilities generally follows the same theme: They seem to have big problems staffing up, because the for-profit motive for private prisons incentivizes them to keep salaries and staff numbers low. As a result, the limited number of guards can’t handle, deter, or stop outbreaks of violence as effectively as a bigger staff in, say, a public prison can.

[mattkime]

...and it seemed like such a good idea...

[SteveG]

Why didn't Trivago tell me about this before I booked my room?

[OWC Jamie]

Not shocking that Clinton only stopped accepting campaign lobbyits and PAC funds from them after months and months of hypocrisy shaming and ONLY because of appearances. for the sake of the campaign.
https://thinkprogress.org/clinton-to-cut....r1mtdfjbj

Gotta keep that tough-on-crime card close to her hardened black heart.

[August West]

Wikipedia wrote:
In 2012, CCA spent $1,790,000 lobbying Congress and federal bureaucracies on issues relating to homeland security, law enforcement, immigrant detention, and information disclosure legislation

[SteveG]

" Clinton will donate the large amount she has already received from these sources to a yet-to-be-named charity."
October 25, 2015.

Not that I'm particularly defending her, she should have had this position years and years ago. Still, it represents an improvement over Trump:
“I do think we can do a lot of privatizations, and private prisons it seems to work a lot better,” said Trump when asked how he planned to reform the country’s prison system."
-April 2016

Or the Trump voter base position:
"Minnesota prosecutors have charged four men in connection with last week's shooting that injured five people at a protest over the killing of a black man by Minneapolis police."
Nov 30, 2015 http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2...inneapolis

[Ombligo]

No politician has ever lost by suggesting that prison expenses be reduced.

Does it ignore reality, very shortsighted and just generally stupid? sure, but the public generally doesn't care.