A lesson from (no longer) CCA prisons in Florida

by David Safier

Private prisons are all the rage here, as they are in Florida. Florida Gov. Rick Scott recently approved privatizing 30 South Florida prisons.

Here are two tales about CCA (Corrections Corporation of America) prisons in Florida, neither of them good. First, from Bay County:

After 23 years, Corrections Corporation of America in 2008 ended its contract to operate the Bay County Jail. The company cited financial reasons for withdrawing, but county officials were happy to agree to a divorce after years of subpar service. The jail suffered multiple escapes by inmates, a hostage standoff, a sex scandal, several instances of inmates smuggling contraband and cases where inmates were either kept in jail past their release dates or released early.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, the improved quality and efficiency of the private sector!

The second is in Hernando County, where taking over the prisons from CCA made them safer, more efficient and less expensive.

When the sheriff's office took over the prison, it made the 177 employees reapply. It rehired only 45.

"Frankly," [Maj. Michael] Page said, "I don't understand why a few of them weren't in jail."

The county had to repair and upgrade the prison because CCA failed to perform routine maintenance. Among the changes, the surveillance was improved. When CCA ran the facility,

"They were watching us," he said, "more than we were watching them."

After the changes were made — and there are still many problems to be addressed — the prison saved $1 million per year compared to the CCA days.

To repeat: safer, more efficient, less expensive prisons when run by the county than when they were run by the private prison industry.