Frank: Privatizing prisons prioritizes profits over humans

I’m a believer in smaller government and allowing the private sector to generate the economy. But not always. Private prisons is one of those exceptions.

When government agents apprehend, convict and incarcerate human beings for committing offenses, it is the responsibility of government to care for the well-being of those offenders, no matter who they are. In the interest of appearing cost-effective, Florida politicians have allowed the private prison business to assume control of 10 percent of our prison population, roughly 10,000 inmates. At first blush, one might think that’s a good idea. But it’s not.

Privatization translates to profit motives and legalized corruption within government circles. Such elements cloud the facts about private prisons, which should send red flags to citizens about injecting profits for inmates into the government arena.

Last July, leading up to a November election, Mother Jones reported that Gov. Rick Scott headlined a $10,000-per-person VIP fundraiser at the home of CEO George Zoley, head of GEO Group, a private prison company. Others attended a general reception for $3,000 a person, all proceeds of which were aimed at the gubernatorial campaign.

Political support is a cleansing term for describing the purchase of influence. In October 2014, Florida shifted from one company to another by awarding GEO contracts to manage 3,854 prison beds, worth $57 million.

Undoubtedly, the state would likely tell us that many more elements were considered before awarding contracts.

In 2012, an Associated Press report found that GEO and two other large private prison companies had spent $45 million on campaign donations over 10 years.

We are talking about five privately operated prisons in Florida, which are, for the most part, out of sight, out of mind. As tax-supported entities, prisons can’t be compared on the same level as police departments and schools. Prisons are low-profile organizations of little priority to the average Floridian and of little notice. Thus, costs can conceivably be reduced by a number of methods; less food, fewer rehab programs, less health care (physical and mental), fewer guards per inmate, pay grades, etc. And, because private companies are not under the same public information mandates as state-run facilities, they are not wholly subject to Sunshine laws, which would provide information on demand about what’s going on behind the razor wire.

When I retired from my 30-year police career in 1990, I signed up with a large private security company evaluating and selling specialized guard contracts around the country for four years.

It was a rude awakening. In some cases, after contracts were implemented, operations managers had one thing on their minds: Bonus. Bigger profits in a security contract translated to enlarged bonuses.

Not all top dogs were concerned with operations unless it jeopardized the contract. It was the bottom line that mattered.

For project managers, inflating profits succeeded through cutting costs, whether holding vacancies for personnel or cutting back on food, care, programs and materials.

I voted for Rick Scott, not that I liked him, but because I was actually voting against the other guy. In many aspects, I think the governor has done a decent job. But not when it comes to private prisons.

If anyone chooses to investigate, a journey through Google offers eye-opening horrors on what has gone on inside American private prisons.

Warehousing human beings cannot be treated as a low-value commodity. Slavery ended 150 years ago. Yes, many inmates are criminals who committed dastardly deeds.

But not all are murderers and robbers. Thousands are in for nonviolent offenses, particularly drug possession.

When inmates are treated inhumane and invisible, without a voice, we citizens will reap the results when they are back among us.

After giving it a trial, Canada discontinued private prisons. So did Israel. So should we.

Frank is an author and retired Miami police detective who lives in Melbourne. Visit his website at marshallfrank.com.