PRIVATE FOR-PROFIT PRISONS Your money, your morals, your choice Dianne Post, J.D. Legal Redress, Maricopa County NAACP

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1 PRIVATE FOR-PROFIT PRISONS Your money, your morals, your choice Dianne Post, J.D. Legal Redress, Maricopa County NAACP

2 State of Arizona 23% of Arizona s prisoners are held in private facilities AZ has the 6 th largest private prison population in the U.S. CCA has 6 prisons in AZ that do not house AZ prisoners, no state oversight 1. La Palma Correctional Center Eloy 2. Red Rock Correctional Center Eloy 3. Saguaro Correctional Center Eloy 4. Central Arizona Detention Center Florence 5. Eloy Detention Center Eloy 6. Florence Correctional Center Florence

3 State of Arizona Arizona has the top incarceration rate in the West Arizona is the top spender on prisons Arizona is the 4 th highest in percent of budget 11% of general fund National average is 7% The highest rate of imprisonment comes from the zip codes near South Mountain. DOC has 43,000 beds and 39,000 prisoners

4 State of Arizona In 20 years, our population increased 100% In the same 20 years, our prison population increased 1036% Our recidivism rate is 46.7%. National average is 40% (Sloan, 2011)

5 State of the Nation We are 5% of worlds population and 25% of the prison population. 1 in 100 people are in prison at a cost of $68 billion per year 2.5 million total, 377% increase since of 37 adults are under some kind of correctional agency, 7.2 million 1 in 18 men, 1 in 60 white men, 1 in 27 Latinos, 1 in 11 Blacks (Sloan, 2011) ICE Detention and Removal increased budget more than $184 million to $2.75 billion. Though there was an overall decrease in funds for ICE and a record low level of border crossings record setting budget for Homeland Security of $45.1 billion

6 Immigrant Detention Fastest-growing incarceration system in the United States: 3 million immigrants have been held in detention facilities across the country during the past decade. ICE detains over 33,000 immigrants on any given day -- more than triple the number of people detained in In Arizona, ICE detains 3,000 immigrants on any given day a 58 percent increase over the past six years. Representing 10% of the country s detained immigrant population.

7 Immigrant Detention Cost: $1.7 billion; Average detention cost of $122 a day per bed. Private companies currently manage approximately 8% of all state and federal prison beds, as compared with approximately 49% of all immigration detention beds.

8 The Illegal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act (1996) Mandatory detention; no bail in many cases Increases list of deportable offenses; crimes of moral turpitude and aggravated felonies Diminishes availability of relief from deportation Removes discretion of immigration officials & judges Dramatic increase in border patrol agents/enforcement/detention Adds local enforcement authority

9 19th Century Experiment Kentucky for 7 years, entire system California 1851 for 10 years Missouri for 10 years Nebraska late 19 th century

10 Convict Leasing After Civil War Alabama Arkansas Texas Virginia Georgia North and South Carolina Louisiana Mississippi

11 The End of the System Workers convict leasing was unfair labor competition Reformers inhumane conditions By 1900 no adult private for-profit prisons remained

12 Re-emergence of System 1960 s Federal Bureau of Prisons, community centers, half way houses 1979 INS for detention of immigrants 1980 s state and local for county jails and state prisons 1986 Congressional hearings on private prisons

13 Ramping Up increased 856% End of corporations operated 150 facilities with income over a billion dollars The system grows because it fails i.e. prisoners stay longer, prisoners return. Prisoners released in 2009 spent an average of 9 months longer than those released in Some nonviolent offenders serve 40 or more years. Prison Break: Budget Crises Drive Reform, But Private Jails Press On, Posted Oct 1, :50 AM CST, By Terry Carter

14 Prison Population Prisoners in Private Prisons- (Too Good to be True) Change 1,366,72 1,612, % Total Private 72, , % Federal 3,828 33, % Private State Private 67,380 94, %

15 Prisoners & Detainees held by Private Prison Companies (Dollars & Detainees) Change Prisoners State Prisons 73,497 94, % Federal Prisons 20,274 33, % Detainees ICE 4,841 14, % U.S. Marshals 4,061 17, %

16 Growth Industry profits up from $392 million to $1.31 billion ,000 to 129,000 inmates, 1600% Conventions Advertising Military hardware production

17 Current Trends Since 2005, the number of states with declining prison population levels has grown steadily from 9 in 2006, 14 in 2007, 19 in 2008, to 24 in 2009 to 26 in Many of these states saw dramatic decreases in crime as they reduced their prison populations. 29,000 prison beds have gone off line since 2011 In Colorado, 4 prisons have closed and the 5 th will close the end of December $22 million was diverted from DOC to diversion and reentry.

18 Current Trends states closed 20 prisons or expect to Potential reduction of prison population by over 14,100 beds Estimated savings of $337 million Florida led nation with 10 closures, $65 million savings resulting in an estimated $337 million in savings. (Nicole Porter)

19 Discrimination 60% of those imprisoned are people of color 58% of Black youth are sent to adult prisons Women of color are 69% more likely to be imprisoned People of color get longer sentences Truthdig, Chris Hedges, Gulag Nation USA, 2.3 million inmates, forced labor, rancid food and it s making the corporate overlords wealthy, March 18, 2013

20 Women Rate of imprisonment for white women (.05%) and for black women (3%) or 6 times higher. Reasons for imprisonment: 33% violent 67% drugs African American Women (Black Americans) and the Prison Industrial Complex, Earl Smith, OpEdNews, 3/20/2013

21 Results Study in Wisconsin 2012 showed that treatment even of diagnosed psychopaths saved $7 for ever $1 spent. ({Mis}guided light, Jenny Price, On Wisconsin, Fall Incarceration and longer sentences are associated with higher rates of recidivism. (What Works: Effective Recidivism Reduction & Risk-Focused Prevention Programs (2008)

22 Impacts on Families Peak crime is 15-25, keeping long past that achieves nothing. Family may go on welfare, poverty trap Costs of visits & even phone calls are astronomical so become estranged. Social Disorder increases crime rates in neighborhoods.

23 Impact on Children 1 in 33 kids has a parent in prison or jail on any day Disrupts bonds, separates siblings, triggers residential instability, causes ostracism from peers Children have psychological trauma, fear, anxious, withdrawn, socially isolated, grieving, acting out Increases odds of living in chronic poverty. Phillips, S.D., Cervantes, W., Lincroft, Y., Dettlaff, A.J., & Bruce, L. (Eds.) (2013). Children in harm s way: Criminal justice, immigration enforcement, and child welfare. Washington, D.C.: Jointly published by The Sentencing Project and First Focus.

24 Public Safety Since 1995, Arizona has had a 43% drop in violent crime. But a 21% increase in incarceration. In the same time period, NY had a 53% drop in crime and a 30% drop in incarceration. The crime drop is not a result of incarceration, quite the opposite. (What Works: Effective Recidivism Reduction & Risk-Focused Prevention Programs (2008)

25 Public Safety Tripling the punishment for violent crime has little impact on crime rates. (Race to Incarcerate) In the U.K. a 25% rise in imprisonment resulted in a 1% decrease in crime mostly burglary but that was speculative. A RAND study found that spending $1 million on drug treatment would reduce crime 15 times more effectively than imprisonment.

26 SHU Violence In states that have reduced solitary confinement Colorado, Maine, and Mississippi violence has not increased. Since Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman released 75 percent of inmates from solitary in the mid-2000s, violence has dropped 50 percent I thought solitary confinement in Iran was bad until I went inside America s prisons, May 4, 2013, Shane Bauer, Mother Jones

27 Criminalization 20% of Americans have felony records 1 in 5 More Black men are incarcerated in the U.S. today than were in South Africa during the height of apartheid. South Africa has have approximately 25 million Black men and the U.S. has 40 million. More Black men are under correctional supervision in the U.S. today than were slaves in Once a prison is built, we are committed to filling it for 50 years.

28 Education Since 1979, corrections and state universities have competed for the same 21% to 25% of the state s General Fund dollars. During that time, higher education s share of the budget fell from 19.1% to 8% while corrections share rose from 4.3% to 11%.

29 Education Between 1979 and 2003, inflation-adjusted per-capita spending on Arizona s public universities fell by 25.7% (from $ to $131.82). Over the same period, per capita spending on the state s prisons and juvenile facilities shot up by 185.5% (from $39.81 to $113.68).

30 Education According to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee s Then and Now comparison of the nine largest state agency budgets, between 2003 and 2013, state funding for the Arizona Department of Corrections increased 67%, while funding for state universities dropped 5% and community colleges fell an astonishing 50%.

31 How Did We Get Here? Three Strikes Truth in Sentencing War on Drugs Mandatory Minimums Transfer youth to adult court School to prison pipeline Planners use # of kids who can t read at 3 rd grade for # of beds needed in 20 years.

32 How did we get here? Yet it has been changes in our laws particularly the dramatic increases in the length of prison sentence that have been responsible for the growth of our prison system, not increases in crime. One study suggests that the entire increase in the prison population from 1980 to 2001 can be explained by sentencing policy changes. p. 92, Michele Alexander, The New Jim Crow

33 How did we get here? Study of federal system, that entire sentencing disparity can be explained by the initial charging decision of the prosecutor using crimes with mandatory minimums for Blacks and not for whites. (Rehavi, M. Marit and Star, Sonja B, Racial Disparity in Federal Criminal Charging and its Sentencing Consequences, University of Michigan Law and Economics Working Paper, January 15, 2012)

34 Facts Our prison population is declining as is crime , our population doubled, our prison population grew 10 fold Private prisons are less safe 66% more violence among prisoners 46% more violence toward staff Private prisons are not accountable Refuse public records requests Private prisons are more costly Medium Security State = $48.16 Medium Security Private = $55.30 (2010)

35 Jobs & Economic Development 2008, AZ Dept of Commerce, employment in Eloy remained 49-55% below national and Az averages 10% of the population is in the facilities Average non-farm wages were $23,900 26% less than AZ average and 30% less than regional average CCA refuses to release wage and salary data The Corrections Corporation of America: How CCA abuses prisoners, manipulates public opinion and destroys communities, Corazon de Tucson, January 2012.

36 Follow the Money Private Beds cost more Costs rose 14% in 2012 State now promises 100% occupancy retroactively to October 2011 State loses $3.5 million a year

37 Who Knew? A.R.S (G) a proposal must show cost savings to the state Annual reports for 6 years showed no cost savings, and that AZ overpaid by $10 million 2003 said well notwithstanding 2007 said well notwithstanding 2012 eliminated the requirement of reporting and quality assessment that had not ever been done

38 ADOC Knew State to buy back first private prison Marana from MTC in bed minimum security for $150,000 Ryan estimates $850,000 a year in savings or 10% per inmate per day. Currently pay $49.03 per inmate. State to buy Arizona s first private prison, Gary Grado- gary.grado@azcapitoltimes.com, Arizona Capitol Times April 29, 2013 at 9:43 am

39 The Players - Executive Jan Brewer - $60,000 in campaign contributions from CCA connections, Paul Senseman previous Brewer Chief of Staff, he and his wife, both lobbyists for CCA Chuck Coughlin Brewer campaign manager and advisor and lobbyist for CCA, dozen of his connected have seats on state boards etc.

40 The Players Legislative John Kavanaugh Chair of House Appropriations, campaign contributions from GEO connected people, member of ALEC Andy Tobin House Speaker, campaign contributions of $6,000 from persons connected with six different private prisons, GEO biggest, MTC hefty

41 CCA Lobbyists Since 2003, spent upwards of $900,000 each year lobbying federal officials 2005 spent $3.38 million alone 2011, spent $880, lobbyists Spent $17.8 million lobbying, got $3.84 billion in contracts The Corrections Corporation of America: How CCA abuses prisoners, manipulates public opinion and destroys communities, Corazon de Tucson, January 2012

42 Solutions The Courts AFSC filed challenge to 5,000 bed RFP, rejected for lack of standing at Superior and Appeals court AFSC and NAACP filed procurement challenge for 2,000 bed RFP, rejected at administrative level for not being interested parties. 1,000 bed contract let to CCA in August CLPI & Morris Institute filed to prevent sweep of $50 million in foreclosure settlement money into prison fund for 500 max beds, lost, filed petition for review 19 October 2012, 26 Nov. oral argument.

43 State Agencies On 12 April 2013, Maricopa County NAACP filed a complaint with the Arizona State Board of Technical Registration against the architect firm. Violation of law torture Discrimination Public Duty On February 7, 2013, Maricopa County NAACP joined by AFSC and several other groups requested an opinion from the AG on conflict of interest for those on both CCA and ABOR boards.

44 Legislature 2013 Introduced by Campbell, Mach, Wheeler, Alston, Dalessandro, Gabaldon, Gallego, Hernandez, McCune Davis, Otondo HB 2126 capacity, notification, officer w/felony or DV, ID, counts, escape costs HB 2127 security officer certification, no power outside HB 2128 cost comparison w/public

45 Legislature 2013 HB 2129 prisoner transfer prohibition HB 2130 facility limits, no new facilities HB 2131 private prison study committee HB 2132 audit of DOC s monitoring of for-profits HB 2133 public records

46 Solutions The People Globe, Arizona - put on ballot Methodist Church divest $1 million Other churches resolutions Community groups resolutions 61 Groups to 48 Governors after CCA offer Divestment Campaign Color of Change

47 How Can I Help? Sign up sheet, and phone CLEARLY Join Arizona Justice Alliance Organize for me to speak at your group Divest Call Joint Committee on Capital Review against DOC request for 500 max security beds Wed. is hearing

48 Committee on Capital Review Senator Shooter, Chairman Senator Griffin, Senator Landrum Taylor, Senator McComish, Senator Melvin, Senator Pancrazi, Senator Tovar Representative Kavanagh, Vice-Chairman Representative Alston, Representative Campbell, Representative Forese, Representative Gowan Representative Gray, Representative Sherwood