Koniki-Siddiqui

I.H. Kempner H.S

Con Blocks

A2 Private Prisons are more expensive

Private prisons actually cost less in Arizona. Per-citizen costs are less
Kavanagh 20141,
A recent column by The Arizona Republics E.J. Montini and an editorial criticizing state government for using private prisons were
short on facts and misleading (Taxpayers held hostage by private prisons, Dec. 29, and Private prisons: Lets see hidden cost
comparisons, Jan. 2). The suggestion that private prisons cost taxpayers more money to operate than state-run prisons is wrong. A

recent Republic news article disclosed that the non-adjusted cost of housing a mediumsecurity prisoner was
$64.52 in a state-run facility and only $58.82 in a private prison. When you further
adjust these figures, as the nonpartisan Joint Legislative Budget Committee did, by adding in the high
expenses of constructing the prisons and paying for the costly and grossly underfunded public
pensions of state corrections employees, the private prisons become an even better
deal for Arizona taxpayers.
Private is less expensive because the state doesnt pay for construction costs.Private
is cheaper because the state doesnt pay for employee pensions.
Private market encourages innovation and better efficiency because of competition.
Moore 19992,
The private sector saves money by doing a number of things differently from
government. Since their success hinges on delivering the same product as the
government but at lower cost, or a better product at a cost-effective price, they turn to new
management approaches, new monitoring techniques, and administrative
efficienciesin a word, innovation. 31 Moving beyond the way it has always been done allows them to reduce labor costs,
reduce tension between correctional officers and inmates, make full use of a facilitys capacity, and make more efficient purchases.

The

evidence from comparative cost studies strongly supports the conclusion that
private prisons save an average of 10 to 15 percent on operating costs. The conclusion is also
supported by the experience of public officials in many states that use private prisons. Competitive pressure provides the incentive to be efficient that helps drive private-sector
costs down, and the firms achieve cost savings through innovative design and management practices. The next section considers whether these savings are accompanied by
adequate quality.

Kavanagh, John. "Private Prisons Really Are Cheaper for Taxpayers."Azcentral.com.Gannett Company, 10 Jan. 2014. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.azcentral.com/opinions/articles/20140111private-prisons-keepmoney-taxpayers-pockets.html>.

Moore, Adrian T. "PRIVATE PRISONS: Quality Corrections at a Lower Cost." (n.d.): n.pag. Reason Public Policy Institute, 1999. Web. 4 Nov.
2014.
<http://reason.org/files/d14ffa18290a9aeb969d1a6c1a9ff935.pdf

Koniki-Siddiqui
I.H. Kempner H.S
Con Blocks

A2 Overcrowding
Private prisons did not create the need for more prisons, they just responded to it. :
Private prisons offer a viable solution to overcrowding in the status quo and enables
states to better deal with it in the future.
Chuang 20043,
Private sector involvement in prisons is not new federal and state governments have had a long history of contracting out specific services to private firms, including medical

. With a
burgeoning prison population resulting from the war on drugs and increased use
of incarceration, prison overcrowding and rising costs became increasingly
problematic for local, state, and federal governments. In response to this expanding
criminal justice system, private business interests saw an opportunity for expansion,
and consequently, private-sector involvement in prisons moved from the simple
contracting of services to contracting for the complete management and operation
of entire prisons. Today, the privatization of prisons refers both to the takeover of existing public facilities by private
operators and to the building and operation of new and additional prisons by for-profit prison companies.
services, food preparation, vocational training, and inmate transportation. The 1980s, though, ushered in a new era of prison privatization

California used private prisons to decrease overcrowding, which was becoming a

deadly issue.
Knafo 20134,
Brown responded by shifting responsibility for certain nonviolent offenders from the state to county governments. Within two years, the state prison population declined by about

Overall, California houses about 119,000 prisoners within its

borders and thousands more in CCA prisons in other states, and it has one of the
most crowded prison systems in the country. In 2009, a panel of federal judges
concluded that the in-state prisons were so densely packed that prisoners were dying
as a result. The judges ordered the state to reduce overcrowding. In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ruling, with Justice Anthony Kennedy declaring in the
25,000. But that didn't satisfy the fed.

majority opinion that the lack of adequate space in California's prisons was causing at least one inmate to "needlessly die" every six or seven days. judges, who have given the state

Brown's recent deals with

CCA and the GEO Group represent attempts to meet that quota.
until the end of February to come up with a plan to further decrease the system's population by about 10,000 inmates.

Chuang, Amy. "Prison Privatization and the Use of Incarceration." (n.d.): n. pag. TheSentencing Project, Sept. 2004. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/inc_prisonprivatization.pdf>.

4 <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/25/californiaprivateprison_n_4157641.html

Koniki-Siddiqui
I.H. Kempner H.S
Con Blocks

A2 Abuse Problems
Private prisons have been proven to be better managed than public ones. If private
prisons are better managed, it can be implied that the guards are probably utilized
more effectively and manage the prison to a safer degree. This means the harms the
pro talks about will be seen less in the world of private prisons versus the world of
public prisons.
Segal 20055,
Furthermore, there is clear and significant evidence that private prisons actually improve
quality. Independent accreditation by the American Correctional Association (ACA) is designed to show a facility meets nationally accepted standards for quality of
operation, management, and maintenance. Currently there are more than 5,000 government and privately managed detention facilities located around the United States, with only

no more than 10 percent of government

correctional facilities have been accredited, whereas 44 percent of private facilities
have been accredited. This dramatic difference suggests that private prisons are
providing quality serviceswhile remaining cost-efficient and providing significant
cost savings.
532 accredited by the ACA--465 are public and 67 are private.16 Thus,

Private prisons are safer than public ones. Private prisons have been proven to have
a better track record with assault than their public counterparts.
Segal 20056,
The 1997 report compared performance of the states one private prison to other
state prisons. Many aspects of prison management were examined including, frequency of escapes, major disturbances, homicides, assault, and inmate grievances.
Quality findings: The performance of the private prison was superior in public safety
issues, protecting staff and inmates, and compliance with professional standards. The
primary function of the 2000 study was a quality comparison. Government and private prisons were compared on
ten individual dimensions including security, food service, facility safety and
sanitation, and inmate health services.

Segal, Geoffrey F. "Comparing Public and Private Organizations." Public AdministrationReview 36.2 (1976): 233-44. The Reason Foundation,
2005. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.burnetcountytexas.org/docs/6-Segal-Commission-onPrisonAbuse.pdf>.

Segal, Geoffrey F. "Comparing Public and Private Organizations." Public AdministrationReview 36.2 (1976): 233-44. The Reason Foundation,
2005. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.burnetcountytexas.org/docs/6-Segal-Commission-onPrisonAbuse.pdf>.

Koniki-Siddiqui
I.H. Kempner H.S
Con Blocks

A2 Private Prisons harm economic competition

The impact is non-unique. Public Prisons also have prison labor, but at the rate of
100%.
Prison labor in the federal prisons. Percent of able-bodied sentenced federal prisoners
required to work in the prison509: 100% Number of prisoner workers in UNICOR, the
federal prison industries510:22,560 Pay scale for federal prisoners who work outside of
UNICOR in prison maintenance, in dollars per hour511: $0.12-$0.40.
This argument means that any negative effects that arise from private prison labor
would happen in either world because without private prisons, 100% of prisoners
would still be required to work. If anything 100% is going to be even worse under
the logic of the pro, as at least there is a chance in the pro world that an inmate can
say no to working.
If the labor is cheaper, it can save companies and communities money, which helps
the economy. In Florida 2.4 million dollars were saved solely from inmate farming.
Brown 20117,
But the budget savings are worth it, many state officials say. In Florida, where the budget was cut by $4.6 billion this year, analysts say inmate farming
could save $2.4 million a year. That is relatively small potatoes, but enough for the new governor, Rick Scott, to call for an expansion of prison farming.

The state already uses 550 inmates to grow 4.8 million pounds of produce a year,
and the governor has pledged $2.5 million to have more inmates grow their own
food. Its a win-win, said Jeff Mullahey, the director of an agricultural center at the
University of Florida whose staff was downsized in 2007 and replaced, in part, by
prisoners. Its obvious to me why governments should be doing this. Inmates arrive at the center from the Century Correctional Institute every
weekday, rain or shine, to grow tomatoes, peppers, squash, broccoli and oranges. The partnership with the prison began
two years ago, after the universitys agriculture program sustained deep budget
cuts. Professors provide farming expertise, and inmates supply the labor and learn marketable skills as fieldworkers. The result has been so
successful, providing $192,000 worth of food a year to the prison and saving $75,000
a year for the university, that wardens from around the state have visited to learn about replicating it with their
inmates.
Prison labor and wage lowers taxes, improves spending, and decreases spending on
things like welfare.
Reynolds 1997,
One of the most promising proposals to reduce the cost of criminal justice is to increase the amount of productive work performed
by prisoners. At present 80 percent of the income earned by prisoners who work is
customarily used to reduce the financial burden on taxpayers and for victim
compensation. Thus about $11,000 per prison worker would be available. The remainder
7

Brown, Robbie, and Kim Severson. "Enlisting Prison Labor to Close Budget Gaps." TheNew York Times. The New York Times, 24 Feb. 2011. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/25/us/25inmates.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Koniki-Siddiqui
I.H. Kempner H.S
Con Blocks

could help prisoners' families, pay personal expenses and be set aside as savings for
use after release. Over the next five years, the prison population is projected to increase to 1.6 million. If half of the
prisoners could be employed by private enterprise during that time, their work would reduce taxpayer costs
by almost $9 billion per year, or about 25 percent of the total cost of prison support.
Prison labor reduces recidivism. People who have steady jobs because of prison
labor after they leave prison commit less crimes.
Reynolds 19978,
One of the most important benefits of prisoner work is that it reduces the
recidivism rate. A federal Post-Release Employment Project (PREP) study confirms that employed prisoners do better than
those who do not work. After release to halfway houses, participants in the PREP study were 24 percent
more likely to get a full-time or day labor job than those who had not worked in
prison. Those who had worked in prison also earned more than those who had not
and were more likely to move on to a better-paying job. Only 6.6 percent of those
who worked in prison had their parole revoked or were charged with committing a
new crime during their first year of supervised release. This compares to 10.1
percent of the group who had not worked in prison. These findings hold up over a much longer period.
Most participants in a follow-up to the PREP study had been released for at least eight years and some for as long as 12 years. Prison
work and training programs seem to have been especially effective in reducing the likelihood of recidivism in the long term.

The overall spending from the prison labor industry creates jobs.
Reynolds 19979,
Wouldn't Prison Labor Steal Private-Sector Jobs? Quite the contrary. Once at work, the prisoner is a job
creator, on balance, because prison production requires new purchases from freeworld businesses. That mean[ing] jobs and higher real wages in the rest of the
economy. Everyone recognizes that getting able-bodied adults off welfare and into productive jobs is a social boon,
and we have been willing to subsidize that transition from welfare to work. The same thing should be true for prison
labor.

Reynolds, Morgan O. "The Economic Impact of Prison Labor." National Center forPolicy Analysis. Texas A&M University, 17 Nov. 1997. Web.
04 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba245>.

Reynolds, Morgan O. "The Economic Impact of Prison Labor." National Center forPolicy Analysis. Texas A&M University, 17 Nov. 1997. Web.
04 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba245>.

Koniki-Siddiqui
I.H. Kempner H.S
Con Blocks

A2 Private Prisons have inferior healthcare

The public sector is responsible for oversight of private, for-profit prisons.
Culp 200510,
Simply contracting with a nongovernment entity to provide correctional services does not guarantee that contract facilities can
actually provide correctional services at less cost or greater quality than government programs. The body of research comparing public
and private facilities finds that cost savings in contract facilities are most likely to occur in jurisdictions where the wages and benefits
of public employees exceed the national average and that, on the whole, contract facilities provide a quality of inmate care on parity
with public facilities. However, research also shows that many

problems in contract facilities are

prompted by poorly written contracts or by inadequate contract monitoring by
government agencies. Prior to entering into the contract process, government
agencies should consider whether they have the capacity to manage and monitor
contracts with private entities adequately. While the use of contract facilities may
streamline government operations, it does not relieve government from the ultimate
responsibility for custody and care of inmates. At minimum, successful contracting
requires that governments assign full-time staff to the tasks of contract
management. Contract development should begin with a competitive bidding process that permits bids by nonprofit as well as
for-profit organizations. Many government jurisdictions also allow government agencies, including divisions within the contracting
jurisdiction, to compete head-to-head with nongovernment bidders. Commonly referred to as market testing, this practice was
pioneered in the United Kingdom and has had the collateral effect of prompting government-operated facilities to adopt cost-saving
strategies in order to remain competitive with the private sector.

Private prisons have higher participation in drug rehabilitation programs.

Blakely 200411,
The private sector reported on average 28% of their inmate population
participated in drug treatment programs. Drug treatment includes counseling, group therapy, and
specialized drug addiction programs. On the other hand, the public sector reported that 14%
of their inmate population participated in similar treatment programs. This suggests that
private sector prisons had, on average, twice the number of inmates participating in drug treatment than did the public sector. Thus, the
related hypothesis was not supported and suggests that the private sector is nearer the normalization end of the ideological continuum
than is the public sector.

State-run prisons struggle with healthcare and may turn to private companies to
alleviate problems
Kutscher12,
10

Culp, Richard. "Contract Facilities." Encyclopedia of Prisons & Correctional Facilities.Ed. Mary Bosworth. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2005. 163-66.
SAGE knowledge.Web. 1 Nov. 2014.
<http://books.google.com/books?id=2ftyAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT206&lpg=PT206&
dq=Culp,+Richard.+%22Contract+Facilities&source=bl&ots=vmJLZwPhz4&sig
=yKGyj36JT56qRjTnU_i3mC63z0E&hl=en&sa=X&ei=o19cVJLMcOvyASkgoHQAw&ved=0CDkQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=Culp%2C%20Ri
chard.%20%22Contract%20Facilities&f=false>

11

Blakely, Curtis R., and Vic W. Bumphus. "Private And Public Sector Prisons--AComparison Of Select Characteristics." Federal Probation 68.1 (2004): 2731. Academic Search Elite. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=207134

12

Kutscher, Beth, and Harris Meyer. "Rumble Over Jailhouse Healthcare. (Cover Story)."Modern Healthcare 43.35 (2013): 6-16. Academic Search Elite. Web. 3 Nov.

Koniki-Siddiqui
I.H. Kempner H.S
Con Blocks

On the other hand, state-operated prison healthcare systems also can find themselves in
trouble, which is what happened in California. There, inmate healthcare has operated under federal court
supervision since [in[ 2005 after a judge found the state failed to provide inmates with
adequate care. The state has tried to regain control, but the judge said the state must first prove it can do a better job. In that
situation, privatization was floated as a way to improve quality of care, said Len Gilroy,
director of government refor

Koniki-Siddiqui
I.H. Kempner H.S
Con Blocks

A2 Private Prisons Influence Intensify Incarceration Laws

Lobbying happens from public groups already, so private corporations have a
minimal impact. Non-Unique.
Volokh 200813,
Even without privatization, actors in the public sector already lobby for changes in
substantive lawin the prison context, for example, public corrections officer
unions are active advocates of pro-incarceration policy. Against this background, adding the extra
voice of the private sector will not necessarily increase either the amount of industry-increasing advocacy or its effectiveness.
Lots of public funds exist already that donate to lobbying, so private groups would
just displace funds and not contribute.
Volokh 2008,14
First, self-interested pro-incarceration advocacy is already common in the public
sectorchiefly from public-sector corrections officers unions. For instance, the most active
corrections officers union, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, has
contributed massively in support of tough-on crime positions on voter initiatives and
has given money to crime victims groups, and public corrections officers unions in other states have endorsed
candidates for their toughon-crime positions. Private firms would thus enter, and partly displace some of
the actors in, a heavily populated field.

Private Corporations actually decrease lobbying for higher incarcerations.

Volokh 2008,15
Second, there is little reason to believe that increasing privatization would increase the amount of self-interested pro-incarceration advocacy. In fact, it is
even possible that increasing privatization would reduce such advocacy. The intuition for this perhaps surprising result36 comes from the economic
theory of public goods and collective action. The political benefits that flow from prison providers pro-incarceration advocacy are what economists call a
public good, because any prison providers advocacy, to the extent it is effective, helps every other prison provider. (We call it a public good even if it is

When individual actors capture less of

the benefit of their expenditures on a public good, they spend less on that good; and
the smaller actors, who benefit less from the public good, free ride off the
expenditures of the largest actor. In todays world, the largest actorthat is, the
actor that profits the most from the system tends to be the public-sector union, since
bad for the public: the relevant public here is the universe of prison providers.)

the public sector still provides the lions share of prison services, and public-sector corrections officers benefit from wages significantly higher than their
private-sector counterparts. The smaller actor is the private prison industry, which not only has a smaller proportion of the industry but also does not
make particularly high profits.

By breaking up the governments monopoly of prison provision

13

Volokh, Alexander. Stanford Law Review. 4th ed. Vol. 60. N.p.: n.p., n.d. LelandStanford Junior University, 2008. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.stanfordlawreview.org/sites/default/files/articles/Volokh_0.pdf

14

Volokh, Alexander. Stanford Law Review. 4th ed. Vol. 60. N.p.: n.p., n.d. LelandStanford Junior University, 2008. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.stanfordlawreview.org/sites/default/files/articles/Volokh_0.pdf>.

15

Volokh, Alexander. Stanford Law Review. 4th ed. Vol. 60. N.p.: n.p., n.d. LelandStanford Junior University, 2008. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.stanfordlawreview.org/sites/default/files/articles/Volokh_0.pdf>.

Koniki-Siddiqui
I.H. Kempner H.S
Con Blocks

and awarding part of the industry to private firms, therefore, privatization can
reduce the industrys advocacy by introducing a collective action problem. The
public-sector unions will spend less because under privatization they experience less
of the benefit of their advocacy, while the private firms will tend to free ride off the
public sectors advocacy.

Koniki-Siddiqui
I.H. Kempner H.S
Con Blocks

A2 Medical experimentation is likely in for profit prisons

Private prisons have contracts with the government that are made to ensure they
will operate under the same regulations as public prisons. The government
negotiates contracts with private prisons that determine how the prison will operate.
Gran 2007,16
This article contributes to research on privatization in general and private prisons in particular through a socio-legal analysis of
governments' contractual relationships with private prison firms (Vincent-Jones, 1989; Alien, 2002). The

contractual
relationships private companies enter with governments shape the services they
provide and the degree to which they fulfill obligations to their prisoners, to
government agencies, and to local communities. When government and private
authorities form contracts, they negotiate the contract's particular terms that
establish how "private" these prisons actually are. The contract's terms determine
the degree to which political actors and civil society can hold these private prisons
accountable to civil society, accord protection to social groups that may be
disadvantaged by contracting out, and ensure that private prisons promote justice.
Our socio-legal analysis of three contracts analyzes their formation, maintenance, and liability components. The U.S. case study
considers how a prison contract was interpreted and amended. Multiple problems with the prison, including the types of prisoners
received and a major prison escape, brought attention to this case. Major sociopolitical actors sprang into action to urge changes to the
contract, some from the federal government and others at the state level, including the introduction of new legislation. The new
aspects of the reformed contract, we contend, are instances of publicization. By reforming the contract, government attempted to
reassert control over some aspects of the government-private firm relationship.

Private prisons have contracts that are still subject to government oversight.
Miller 201017,
Private prisons can be defined in one of the following manners: a transfer of public facilities to a private organization; a contract to design and operate
new prisons; and a contract to provide other services to public prisons such as transportation, medical care, food, and maintenance. A
misconception about private prisons is that they are not tied to the government.
However, private prisons typically enter into a contract with a government agency
to house inmates; in return, the government plays a major role in regulating private
prisons. Thus, it is important to note that there is less of a difference than commonly
believed between public and prisons-for-profit correctional systems (Dolovich, 2005). Indeed, the
primary distinction of a private prison is that an organization rather than the government oversees its operation. Often the relationship is blurred, with the
government outsourcing thousands of prisoners to private prisons per year, but also, through contracts, extending its power by placing limitations and
regulations on these organizations (Mulone, 2008).

16

Gran, Brian and William Henry. Holding Private Prisons Accountable: A Socio-LegalAnalysis of "Contracting Out" Prisons. Social Justice. 2007. Web. Accessed 7
November 2014. https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1183553469/holding-private-prisons-accountable-a-socio-lega

17

Miller, David. The Drain of Public Prison Systems and the Role of Privatization:An Analysis of State Correctional Systems. ProQuest
Academic. Feb 2010.
Web.Accessed 7 November 2014
http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/prisons/review.pdf

Koniki-Siddiqui
I.H. Kempner H.S
Con Blocks

A2 Prison Industrial Complex

In the status quo the Justice Department is trying to decrease the use of
incarceration.
Merica 201318,
The Justice Department will no longer pursue mandatory minimum sentences for
certain low-level, nonviolent drug offenders, Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday, noting the
nation is "coldly efficient in jailing criminals," but that it "cannot prosecute or
incarcerate" its way to becoming safer. "Too many Americans go to too many
prisons for far too long, and for no truly good law enforcement reason," Holder told the
American Bar Association's House of Delegates in San Francisco. He questioned some assumptions about the criminal justice system's
approach to the "war on drugs," saying that excessive incarceration has been an "ineffective and unsustainable" part of it. Although he
said the United States should not abandon being tough on crime, Holder embraced steps to address "shameful" racial disparities in
sentencing, the budgetary strains of overpopulated prisons and policies for incarceration that punish and rehabilitate, "not merely to
warehouse and forget."

Things like Marijuana are becoming legal. Private prisons lobby to punish harmless
crimes, such as the use of marijuana. But currently despite these efforts marijuana
is becoming legal showing that these private interest have little impact.
Voorhees 201419,
Voters in Alaska and possibly Oregon will decide this November whether their states will join Colorado and Washington in legalizing the commercial
sale and recreational use of pot. Similar initiatives are at varying stages in more than a half-dozen other states Nevada, Arizona, and California among
themwhere advocates are looking toward 2016, when they hope the presidential election will turn out enough liberals to push those efforts across the
finish line. All told, more than 1 in 5 Americans live in states where marijuana use has a legitimate chance to become legal between now and when
President Obama leaves office. Its not just at the ballot box where the pro-pot crowd is putting points on the board. Lawmakers in at least 40 states have

According to the
Marijuana Policy Project, proposals to treat pot like alcohol have been introduced
in 18 states and the District of Columbia this year alone. Meanwhile, 16 states have already
decriminalized marijuana, according to the pro-pot group NORML
Maryland will become the 17th in October. In large swaths of the country getting caught with a small amount of weed at a concert is now roughly the
eased at least some drug laws since 2009, according to a recent Pew Research Center analysis.

same as getting a speeding ticket on the way to the show. While not leading the charge, the Obama administration is allowing states the chance to
experiment.

18

Merica, San. "Eric Holder Seeks to Cut Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences." CNN, 12Aug. 2013. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/12/politics/holdermandatoryminimums/>.

19

Voorhees, Josh. "Could Pot Soon Be Legal Just About Everywhere?" Slate Magazine.N.p., 10 June 2014. Web. 02 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/06/marijuana_leg
alization_will_weed_soon_be_legal_everywhere_in_the_united.html>.

Koniki-Siddiqui
I.H. Kempner H.S
Con Blocks

A2 Exploitation of Prison Labor

The impact is non-unique. Public Prisons also have prison labor, but at the rate of
100%.
Prison labor in the federal prisons. Percent of able-bodied sentenced federal prisoners
required to work in the prison509: 100% Number of prisoner workers in UNICOR, the
federal prison industries510:22,560 Pay scale for federal prisoners who work outside of
UNICOR in prison maintenance, in dollars per hour511: $0.12-$0.40.
This argument means that any negative effects that arise from private prison labor
would happen in either world because without private prisons, 100% of prisoners
would still be required to work. If anything 100% is going to be even worse under
the logic of the pro, as at least there is a chance in the pro world that an inmate can
say no to working.
Making prisoners work is good for society. Prisoners who have worked are less
likely to be a burden to society in the future.
Unicor doesn't agree with the criticism. According to spokeswoman Julie Rozier, inmates working for Unicor are 24%
less likely to reoffend and 14% more likely to be employed long-term upon release.
She also noted that over 40% of Unicor's supplies were purchased from small businesses in 2011. She cited the unique costs associated with operating
20
within a prison. For example, Unicor employs more supervisors than a private sector firm would, and security lockdowns disrupt production

The work helps rehabilitate prisoners and gives them key skills for the future.
Elk 201121,
At the Union Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison in Florida, inmates from
a nearby lower-security prison manufacture tons of processed beef, chicken and pork for
Prison Rehabilitative Industries and Diversified Enterprises (PRIDE), a privately held
non-profit corporation that operates the states forty-one work programs. In addition to
processed food, PRIDEs website reveals an array of products for sale through contracts
with private companies, from eyeglasses to office furniture, to be shipped from a
distribution center in Florida to businesses across the US. PRIDE boasts that its work
programs are designed to provide vocational training, to improve prison security
to reduce the cost of state government, and to promote the rehabilitation of the state
inmates.

20

Factory Owners: Federal Prisoners Stealing Our Business." CNNMoney. Cable NewsNetwork, 14 Aug. 2012. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.
<http://money.cnn.com/2012/08/14/smallbusiness/federal-prison-business/>.

21

Elk, Mike. "The Hidden History of ALEC and Prison Labor." The Nation. N.p., 1 Aug.2011. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.thenation.com/article/162478/hiddenhistoryalec-and-prison-labor>.

Koniki-Siddiqui
I.H. Kempner H.S
Con Blocks

Prison work offsets the cost of incarceration

Steadman 201322,
Between 2005 and 2008, the Howard League ran the Barbed graphic design studio,
Britain's [With

the] first proper business inside prison. Our employees received the
market rate for their work, paid tax, contributed to a victims fund and could save to
support themselves and their families on release - rather than leaving the taxpayer
to foot the bill.
Working gives prisoners a goal they can earn, and learn valuable skills along the
way.
Gibbs 201123,
We need a new regime of work, with private companies hiring more prisoners to fulltime jobs. Most prisoners illiterate and drug
dependent are not ready for real work, but governors should aspire to increase the number who are, and to embed profitable, paid
work as the core activity in their prison. The rationale is clear employment

is an obligation for everyone,

but paid employment for prisoners is a privilege that they should earn. If an
offender abides by the rules, gets off drugs and becomes literate, then they should be able
to apply for work. If they do none of these things, then they should receive fewer privileges and none of the work benefits.

22

Steadman, Karen. "Viewpoints: Should Prisoners Have Jobs?" BBC News. N.p.,21 Aug. 2013. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-23781988>

23

Gibbs, Blair. "If Prisoners Worked, We'd All Be Better off." The Telegraph. TelegraphMedia Group, 12 June 2011. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.

Koniki-Siddiqui
I.H. Kempner H.S
Con Blocks

A2 Increased Recidivism
There are no major differences in recidivism between the two sectors. In a Florida
study that looked at 36 measures of recidivism for different groups of nearly 90,000
prisoners, private and public prisons had nearly identical rates of recidivism.
Bales 200324,
The three private prison release cohorts of adult males, adult females, and youthful male offenders are identified and compared to similar release cohorts

Results of multivariate statistical analyses indicated no significant

differences in recidivism rates were discovered for adult males and youthful male offenders
released from private versus public prisons, which is consistent with previous
research on Florida offenders. The results of the female adult offenders indicated that 1 of the 12 measures of public versus
of public prisons.

private prison exposure resulted in a significant reduction in recidivism among this group of offenders. Overall, only 1 in 36 comparisons resulted in a
significant finding of lower recidivism rates among inmates released from private versus public prisons.

Private prisons are changing their policies to improve recidivism rates.

Huling 201425,
Damon Hininger, chief executive of Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corp. of

government clients are increasingly concerned about the long-term costs of housing
inmates and are pushing CCA and other private operators to save them money by
reducing recidivism, the number of inmates who are released only to do a repeat turn in prison. He plans to expand
the company's prison rehabilitation programs, drug counseling and its prisoner
reentry work in cities around the country. It's a significant shift for CCA, which has built a profitable business from incarcerating
America, CXW -0.71% said in an interview that

peoplenearly 70,000 inmates are currently housed in more than 60 facilities. The company is the fifth-largest correction system in the country, after only the federal government

We are
determined to prove that we can play a leadership role in reducing recidivism and
that we have every incentive to do so. The interests of government, taxpayers,
shareholders, and communities are aligned. We all just need to recognize that and
commit to that.''
and the states of California, Florida and Texas. "This is a watershed moment for our company and we hope it will be for our entire industry,'' Mr. Hininger said.

24

Bales, Williams. Recidivism: An Analysis of Public and Private State Prison Releases inFlorida. Florida State University, December 2003.
<https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=205465 >

25

Huling, Tracy. Prison Firm CCA Seeks to Reduce Number of Repeat Offenders. WallStreet Journal, September 2014.
<http://online.wsj.com/articles/prison-firm-ccaseeksto-reduce-number-of-repeat-offenders-1410561176>

Koniki-Siddiqui
I.H. Kempner H.S
Con Blocks

A2 Regulation
Long track record of safety.
Gilroy 200926,
The notion that private prisons are somehow less safe than public facilities is unfounded. Private

corrections
companies have a long track record of safe operations and are routinely held
contractually to higher safety and performance standards than even public prisons
are able to meet. Put simply, if these companies cant demonstrate a strong safety record, they
wont be able to retain existing [contracts] and attract new ones.
Private prisons are of higher standard than public ones.
Gilroy 200927,
To this end, most privately-operated prisons meet or exceed the performance standards
outlined by the American Correctional Association (ACA), a national organization providing professional
certification and accreditation of correctional facilities to ensure that they meet high operating standards in
such areas as safety and emergency procedures, staff training and development, and
sanitation and food services. By contrast, in many states public prisons do not hold themselves to these same standards (which is one of
the reasons private prisons are so attractive policymakers can mandate the achievement and/or maintenance of accreditation as part of a performancebased contract). Hence, officials should probably be more concerned about the safety of felons held in public facilities, as opposed to private prisons

Private prisons have quality monitors on hand.

Crawford 199828,
Of the 89 contracts for which we have information, 46 of them (or 52 percent) reported having monitors onsite on a daily basis. These monitors generally worked full-time on these assignments, although some had responsibilities for more than
one contract. A smaller number of contracts (16) had part-time monitors, who averaged about one day a
week, visiting the facilities on a monthly basis. Ten contracts had monitors who devoted about the same level of attention to the
contract, but visited only quarterly.
Inmates in private prisons are less likely to reoffend.
Volokh 201429,
26

Gilroy, Leonard. "Mythbusting: Private Prisons and Inmate Safety." Reason FoundationBlog. N.p., 26 Mar. 2009. Web.
04 Nov. 2014.
<http://reason.org/blog/show/mythbusting-private-prisons-an>.

27

Gilroy, Leonard. "Mythbusting: Private Prisons and Inmate Safety." Reason FoundationBlog. N.p., 26 Mar. 2009. Web.
04 Nov. 2014.
<http://reason.org/blog/show/mythbusting-private-prisons-an>.

28
29

Crawford, Stephen. (n.d.): n. pag. Department of Justice, 1998. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.<https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/203968.pdf>

Volokh, Sasha. "Are Private Prisons Better or Worse than Public Prisons?" WashingtonPost. The Washington Post, 25 Feb. 2014. Web. 02
Nov. 2014.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/02/25/areprivateprisons-better-or-worse-than-public-prisons/>.

Koniki-Siddiqui
I.H. Kempner H.S
Con Blocks

A later study by David Farabee and Kevin Knight that corrected for some of these deficiencies found no comparative difference in the
reoffense or reincarceration rates of males or juveniles over a three-year post-release period, though women had lower recidivism
in the private sector. However, this study may still suffer from the problem of the attribution of inmates who spent some time in each
sector, as well as possible selection bias to the extent that private prisons got a different type of inmate than public prisons did. Another study by William
Bales and coauthors, even more rigorous, likewise found no statistically significant difference between public-inmate and private-inmate recidivism.

Koniki-Siddiqui
I.H. Kempner H.S
Con Blocks

A2 Rehabilitation
Private prisons do rehabilitate on a large scale. Rumors about private prisons are
overblown.
Its been easy for opponents of privatization to alarm the public by conjuring up frightening images of privately operated prisons, with staffing cuts so

only is this image overblown, it is also

demonstrably incorrect. Data readily available makes it clear that private prisons
can provide a better environment for education, vocational and life skills programs
without sacrificing a strong commitment to public safety that will help inmates
make a smoother transition to their communities when they are released. The chart below
deep that security becomes a challenge and rehabilitation an impossibility. Not

compares data for facilities in Department of Corrections Region IV the area affected by the proposed privatization pilot program and the privately
operated South Bay Correctional and Moore Haven Correctional Facilities. The comparison excludes the facilities the state has identified for closure
(Broward, Glades and Indian River Correctional Institutions). The Region IV data comes from the states recent Region IV RFP, while the private-facility
figures have been provided by Corrections Corporation of America and The GEO Group.30

Private prisons have prepared thousands of inmates to be reintroduced into society.

Cowling 201431,
Our company invests close to $100 million per year in rehabilitation, education and re-entry programs, which help offenders reintegrate into society, The GEO Group said in a

. GEO says it has

awarded more than 10,000 GEDs through its in-prison academic programs in the
last decade. And, in that time, about 40,000 inmates have achieved completion
certificates from\ a variety of GEO vocational programs including computer
support, carpentry, culinary arts, horticulture, masonry, electrical and commercial
drivers license courses. Other prisoners have benefited from cognitive behavior, problem solving, employability and parenting courses, along with
statement. GEO says it offers training in such things as academic and vocational classes to life skills and treatment programs

substance abuse and therapeutic programs, the companys statement said. Officials at Corrections Corporation of America said, The underlying premise of this question is
incorrect.

In an effort to earn government contracts in the future private prisons have every
incentive to rehabilitate.
Cowling 201432,
CCAs success or failure is based on our ability to meet or exceed our government
partners expectations for safe, secure facilities and providing value to taxpayers. Collectively, the industry only houses about 10 percent of the
total inmate population in the U.S. Whats more, the rehabilitation and re-entry programming we provide
30

Data: Privately Run Prisons Can Provide Better Rehabilitation Programs." WCTV RSS.N.p., 13 Feb. 2012. Web. 07 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.wctv.tv/blogs/editorial/Data_Privately_Run_Prisons_Can_Provide_
Better_Rehabilitation_Programs_139216274.html>.

31

Cowling, Mark. " Prison Legal News ." PLN Mentioned in AZ Article on Private Prisonsand Rehabilitation. N.p., 21 May 2014. Web. 07 Nov.
2014.
<https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/in-the-news/2014/pln-mentioned-az-articleprivateprisons-and-rehabilitation/>.

32

Cowling, Mark. " Prison Legal News ." PLN Mentioned in AZ Article on Private Prisonsand Rehabilitation. N.p., 21 May 2014. Web. 07 Nov.
2014.
<https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/in-the-news/2014/pln-mentioned-az-articleprivateprisons-and-rehabilitation/>.

Koniki-Siddiqui
I.H. Kempner H.S
Con Blocks

is part of the value we provide our partners. In other words, in addition to being the
right thing to do, its a great selling point for our company. CCA spokesman Steve Owen said each
year CCAs principals and teachers help inmates earn GEDs and learn employable skills such as computer skills and cabinetmaking. Full-time chaplains
teach values like responsibility and anger management. According to a recent study by RAND Corp., offenders who participate in correctional education
programs have 43 percent lower odds of returning to prison than those who do not, Owen said.

Koniki-Siddiqui
I.H. Kempner H.S
Con Blocks

A/T: MORALLY WRONG TO PRIVATELY INCARCERATE

PRIVATE PRISONS ARE MORALLY ACCEPTABLE-Mitchell 200533,
Before Maryland can consider the financial benefits of using privately run prisons, it should first consider whether such facilities are morally acceptable.

. But in a free society of

voluntary exchange, it is impossible to separate profit from any sort of good or
serviceincluding the operation of a prison. In state institutions, guards are paid to
watch the prisoners, administrators are paid to run the facilities, and other
employees provide services from preparing the food to washing the sheets. Each of
those employees is motivated to do that work by the compensation he or she receives
that is, by the opportunity to profit personally. If it is morally acceptable for each of a prison's many
At first blush, the idea that one person may profit from another's incarceration may seem inhumane

employees to be motivated by profit, then it seems strange to claim that the employees cannot bind together as a corporation backed
by investors and pursue profit for their combined work.

33

Matthew; Private Prisons Benefit Inmates; How Should Prisons Treat Inmates?; 2005; Gale Group

Koniki-Siddiqui
I.H. Kempner H.S
Con Blocks

A2: Savings Just Due to Wage Differences

Most of the savings is not due to wage differences.
Dr. Simon Hakim and Dr. Erwin A. Blackstone, 2013, Professors of Economics, Temple, April 29, 2013, Cost Analysis of Public and
Contractor Operated Prisons, http://tinyurl.com/mze64qw
Salaries of correctional officers in public and private prisons are comparable. For example, beginning public correctional officers in 2012 earned $24,605,
while private officers earned $24,190, a 1.7 percent difference. The total long run savings by contracting out medium security prisoners were $8.63 and
$11.37 per inmate per day for the two prisons, which results mostly from capital savings. The two maximum security prisons achieved savings of $31.58,

savings arose from avoided unaccounted pensions and

healthcare costs of $1.29. The cost advantage of Private Prison facilities likely arises
from their greater productivity and possibly greater purchasing power. This coincides with the 15
percent greater productivity of private prisons experienced in Ohio. Thus, the long run savings from
and $32.92 per inmate per day. Additional

contracting out to private prisons is marginally attributed to wage differences.

Koniki-Siddiqui
I.H. Kempner H.S
Con Blocks

A2 Illegitimate Delegation of Authority

Private prisons operate under contract, no authority has been surrendered
Professor Richard Harding, 2001, is inspector of custodial services for the state of Western Australia, Crime & Justice, v. 28,
Private Prisons, p. 265-6
A private prison is one managed by a nongovernment entity on behalf of the state. As Logan states (1990, p. 13), it is "a place of [involuntary justice
system] confinement managed by a private company under contract to government." The inmates would otherwise be incarcerated in government

"so-called 'private prisons' are not private

sector prisons but [state] prisons run on contract for the [responsible government
department] by a private sector company" (Ramsbotham 1995/96, p. 8). This observation remains true whether the
operated prisons. The U.K. chief inspector of prisons has said that

private company manages a state-owned prison or also owns the physical structure itself. These definitions bring out two crucial points: that

authority to hold and deal with prisoners is derived from public law, not private
arrangement, and that private prisons are an integral component of the jurisdiction's prison system. It is crucial to emphasize the first point so
as to contrast contemporary privatization with the statutorily unregulated deals relating to the leasing of convict labor that first emerged in the United
States in the early nineteenth century. The second point highlights that the state, in outsourcing or delegating service delivery, has not in principle
surrendered any part of its overall responsibility for system objectives, standards, legality, or equity