Private Prison Company Used in Drug Raids in Private High School

Private Prison Company Used in Drug Raids in Private High School

www.alternet.org

While such "drug sweeps" have become a routine matter in many of the nation's schools, along with the use of metal detectors and zero-tolerance policies, one feature of this raid was unusual. According to Casa Grande Police Department (CGPD) Public Information Officer Thomas Anderson, four "law enforcement agencies" took part in the operation: CGPD (which served as the lead agency and operation coordinator), the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Gila River Indian Community Police Department, and Corrections Corporation of America (CCA).

(visit the link for the full news article)

That's right, the CCA is now acting as law enforcement.

And you thought mercenaries only operated overseas.

I've been concerned about the increase in private prisons over the last 20 years and now they're doing everything they can to keep those for profit prisons stocked.

We need to stand up to this as a nation and end the new form of American slavery.

www.alternet.org
(visit the link for the full news article)

I mistyped the title, it was a PUBLIC school.

I used to see billboards for the CCA job openings up and down I-40 in Arizona and New Mexico. New Mexico east of Albuquerque for several of them, as I recall now. It gives me an uneasy feeling when we're privatizing something so crucial and core to our values and way our system runs in America as Correction/Rehab or just warehousing of the worst of the criminal element. Private means for profit....for profit in THIS area means all the wrong things suddenly become GOOD things to hope for more of. Like fresh inmates to keep capacities full and collecting the maximum per bed allotment.

Now these private thuggeries are sending their people out to roust High Schoolers in school? I say that's a few lines too far, personally. Police have a job to do, I get that. It's even a fair debate for how deep into schools law enforcement needs to be these days, I guess. I see no such room to debate private guard forces being used under cover of full law enforcement to work on teens though. Talk about Fail with neon letters! Shame on the local and state government for letting this happen, IMO.

There is no reason why someone can't use "private security" for these things, and never has been.

And since the police departments are universally harder worked you can expect more of it.

Modern slavery? That's a pretty stupid comment.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I'd read about the school to prison pipeline before, honestly thought it was an isolated thing before reading this article.

It's funny, there are laws that keep coounty assessors from being involved in municiple government. The logic being that they could manipulate the cashflow by just upping the values of the houses in that community.

But there are no protections against this?

Originally posted by Aloysius the Gaul
There is no reason why someone can't use "private security" for these things, and never has been.

And since the police departments are universally harder worked you can expect more of it.

Modern slavery? That's a pretty stupid comment.

You must not know much about CCA and the rest.

They currently bid prison labor to private corporations and pay the inmates pennies on the dollar.

And I'm curious, Would you stand for a prison guard writing you a speeding ticket?

reply to post by AGWskeptic


Or you could try to argue the facts instead of making fallacious comparisons.

Oh..yeah...this is ATS...

I know what CCA is - there are many companies doing simiar roles world wide. That doesn't stop them from being able to cary out private private security functions.

And it still does not make this "modern slavery"

reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul


Are you serious?

You don't see the conflict of interest in private prisons, and law enforcement?

Private means for profit. Which means they have no interest in reducing crime, only increasing their profits.

It's not as simple as being allowed to use their property in an economic fashion as they wish.

reply to post by AGWskeptic
Indeed, you make another good point right there. While I've never minded the inmates being worked, I've always considered work for the Government and to SAVE taxpayers money as the only appropriate way to do it. Sheriff Joe uses his for community service by force, if one wants to look at it that way. It used to be that making license plates (maybe still is?) wasn't cliche' but a literal part of what prisons did. Ditto for mechanical work for pennies over the dollar to local government/law enforcement needing it. All that makes 100% perfect sense.

However, you raise where it's gone from that to CCA making big bucks and big profits on the literal backs of the prison labor. Now that's not making license plates. That's making bank for someone and it's getting dangerously close to returning to those bad old days where Georgia and other Southern states literally did contract their prisoners as a commodity for labor. (shivers) I'd have thought we were past all that.

reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul


It's slavery because the prisoners are used for cheap labour.

The interests of private entities is to make profit, it is not suitable for public services that could conflict with the need to make profit.

The bottom line really is if you are doing something that can land you in trouble with the law, then does it really matter if it is state run, federal run or private run?

The main thing is do not do something that could land you in jail!

Do the crime, do the time.


Now, if they were doing a raids and planting drugs and conspiring to put innocent people in jail, then you would have a good reason to retaliate.

Originally posted by Aloysius the Gaul
reply to post by AGWskeptic

 

Or you could try to argue the facts instead of making fallacious comparisons.

Oh..yeah...this is ATS...

I know what CCA is - there are many companies doing simiar roles world wide. That doesn't stop them from being able to cary out private private security functions.

And it still does not make this "modern slavery"

edit on 2-12-2012 by Aloysius the Gaul because: (no reason given)

When did profiting from cheap inmate labor become a function of prisons?

A little more reading to educate you.

www.thenation.com...#


And please answer the question, would you be ok with a private prison guard giving you a ticket?

Originally posted by ANOK
reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul

 

Are you serious?

You don't see the conflict of interest in private prisons, and law enforcement?

Private means for profit. Which means they have no interest in reducing crime, only increasing their profits.

Yep. Private security companies are out to make a profit - gotcha.

Knew that.

It's not as simple as being allowed to use their property in an economic fashion as they wish.

So yuo are arguing against private security companies being involved in any operation that includes police?

Or what??

I am personaly dead set against pribvate prisons. IMO if hte state is using force against its citizens then it shoudl be state aparatus doing it and not for profit private companies.

but this is not a prison where people are forceably detained - this is a school carrying out a drug search. While you might think that the school is "the state" it is not - it is a school - and a search is not using force IMO. As long as it is LEO's perfoming any arrests or seizures (which ARE the use of force) then I think you have no case.

reply to post by ANOK

It's slavery because the prisoners are used for cheap labour.

Errm they are prisoners, in jail for commiting crimes.

So they are really lucky to be getting any sort of payment.

Originally posted by AGWskeptic


When did profiting from cheap inmate labor become a function of prisons?

Pretty much ever since prisons were invented, or even earlier if yuo include debtor servitude - which in ancient times WAS slavery.

A little more reading to educate you.

www.thenation.com...#


And please answer the question, would you be ok with a private prison guard giving you a ticket?

No I will not answer your question - it is loaded and irrelevant.

reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul


So you're ok with private prison guards doing some law enforcement outside of prison walls?

It's not a loaded question, it's a yes or no question.

Originally posted by magma

Now, if they were doing a raids and planting drugs and conspiring to put innocent people in jail, then you would have a good reason to retaliate.

What about rehabilitation? Isn't prison supposed to be about making people fit to move back into society? Not to be used as cheap labour to make profits for private individuals?

So what would you do if they started conspiring to put innocent people in jail? What happens when crime is low and the prisons profits go down? Do they close the prison, lay-off the prisoners lol? Or find a way to make their business grow?

Where does their interest lie, in rehabing convicts, or exploiting people for profit?

I don't agree with the drug laws and other non violent offenses to begin with because it infringes on our freedoms.
You would reduce my share of taxes going to prisons by 1/2 if these were done away with.

For violent offenses and the like, I want my tax dollars to go to the government that represents we the people, for the sole purpose of locking people up that are a danger to society.


A for profit enterprise's mission is not to lock people up so that they are no longer a danger to society but to steal my tax dollars to fatten their wallets.


I want my money going to a representation of we the people for the good of society, not to give incentive to others to gain off of and to lobby their cronies to pass more profit seeking laws. That is totally bass ackwards.

Originally posted by magma

Errm they are prisoners, in jail for commiting crimes.

So they are really lucky to be getting any sort of payment.

Really not the point mate.

I mean cheap labour for the prison. You see private capitalist businesses make their money from exploiting labour.
The cheaper the labour the more work they can get, and the more profits they can make. It's why they outsource to cheaper foreign labour.

Originally posted by AGWskeptic
reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul

 

So you're ok with private prison guards doing some law enforcement outside of prison walls?

It's not a loaded question, it's a yes or no question.

edit on 2-12-2012 by AGWskeptic because: (no reason given)

You keep attributing "prison guards" as their title. A private firm can assign employees to different functions which means their title changes as well.. the title doesn't matter.. just the function..
Do government employees have to serve the food in the school or would you allow a private firm.
that's rhetorical as it has as little relevance as the speeding ticket.

b