Arizona Prisons May Go Private to Curb Budget Woes

Arizona prisons may go private in an effort to curb the growing state budget deficit. This report comes on the heels of news of potential prison closures and Department of Corrections lay-offs within the Arizona prison system. Read Jennifer Waite's article on the proposed lay-offs and state budget cuts that could affect Department of Corrections operations in Arizona prisons.

According to a New York Times article by Jennifer Steinhauer, "Arizona May Turn Death Row Over To Private Companies", Arizona will soon begin seeking bids from private corrections firms to take over as many as nine out of ten prisons currently run by the state. In this move, the Arizona D.O.C. would turn over custody of inmates and control of several prison complexes to a private firm offering them a competitive rate for a contract.

Steinhauer reports that a current, state-proposed $100 million dollar deal would allow a private take-over of existing prison complexes around the state, as opposed to a private firm building new prisons and charging per prisoner, per day, to operate them. In this way, savings can be accurately compared to the expenditures by the state of Arizona for providing the same care in years past. If any significant savings in achieved by the privatization of the state prisons, the money saved would be split between the state and the private contracting firm.

The only major exception to the privatization of prison operations would be the process of executing Arizona's death row inmates. The responsibility of carrying out executions of condemned inmates would still lie with the state, according to the legislation's proposal.

In Steinhauer's New York Times piece, she quotes Todd Thomas, the warden of a privately-run prison in Eloy, AZ, as saying, "I would not want to be the warden of death row...that's not to say we wouldn't, but the liability is too great. I don't think any private entity would ever want to do that."

Potential lawsuits and dirty hands aside, some in the Department of Corrections community feel there is a good chance state officials will re-think altogether the idea of privatizing Arizona prisons, and do so well before the proposal ever comes to fruition.

A source within the Department of Corrections, working out of the state's Perryville prison, located west of Phoenix, expressed his concerns and skepticism regarding privatization of Arizona's prisons. The source says of the situation,"This privatization thing is going to take time, and the legislators are re-thinking the whole idea, because they didn't take into account our retirement. If all of D.O.C. went private, CORP would have to pay out everyone's retirement contributions. This would bankrupt them [CORP]."

A lot also depends on Arizona's current political climate, according to the source, who stated Friday, "I'm not as worried as I was when the Governor first signed the bill into law. The union, AZCOPS, has been working hard behind the scenes...to get the people we need into the respective political positions, i.e. the Governor's seat. The election is next year, and AZCOPS is supporting Terry Goddard [current AZ Atty. General]."

Currently, due to budget woes, staff shortages are a major issue within Arizona prisons. In 2008, at the Tucson complex, units were regularly locked down due to short-staffing issues. Putting a unit on lockdown affects all operations, and places even more strain on the officers working that shift. According to the Perryville source, things are no better in Phoenix. "As far as being short-staffed, we are always short-staffed. We have been since I started in the department six years ago.", the source revealed.

According to Steinhauer's report, up to thirty percent of all inmates incarcerated in Arizona are housed at private facilities. Indeed, a private firm called Corrections Corporations of America, which oversees operations at 64 facilities nationwide, already run six facilities in Arizona. Eloy Detention Center, Central Arizona Detention Center and Florence Correctional Center are among the private prisons Corrections Corporations is responsible for operating in the southwestern state.

While private corrections firms may have ample experience housing minimum and medium-security inmates, there isn't a long-standing track record of these firms successfully controlling more violent, dangerous offenders. In 2008, then-Governor Janet Napolitano pushed for stricter regulations on the private prison industry, including measures to prevent private firms from housing maximum-security inmates, those inmates with sexual offenses, and those convicted of murder or any other Class One or Two felonies.

Governor Napolitano also wanted one-hundred percent transparency, with private prisons responsible for submitting profiles of every inmate in their custody to the Arizona Department of Corrections, and restrictions on the release of out-of-state inmates onto Arizona streets following completion of their sentences. With a lack of strong bi-partisan support, Napolitano's Senate bill 1142 fizzled in March of 2008, after only one hearing on the proposed legislation.

It remains to be seen if Arizona will proceed with privatizing all state prisons, though the controversial attempt to restrain Arizona's deficit does appeal to some. Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Representative John Kavanagh, told the New York Times, "We have private prisons in Arizona already, and we are very happy with their performance, and the savings we get from them."

Sources:

Interview with AZ D.O.C staff member, Perryville state prison
New York Time report by Jennifer Steinhauer, "Arizona May Turn Death Row Over To Private Companies"