(business) Business Boom For Private Prisons (moved from ATSNN), page 1

The number of private prisons has been on the rise for the past few years due to an increased demand of federal agencies seeking to put away rapidly increasing numbers of criminals and detained non-citizens. Although the private prisons are no longer fueled on the state level, the amount of federal inmates housed in them has increased by two-thirds since 2000.

news.yahoo.com
Since 2000, the number of federal inmates in private facilities — prisons and halfway houses — has increased by two-thirds to more than 24,000. Thousands more detainees not convicted of crimes are confined in for-profit facilities, which now hold roughly 14 percent of all federal prisoners, compared to less than 6 percent of state inmates.

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The number of people detained by U.S. immigration officials also is increasing rapidly — up three-fold in the past 10 years to more than 21,000 at a given time. In December, Congress passed a terrorism prevention bill calling for 40,000 additional beds by 2010 for aliens awaiting deportation.

Many of the detainees are housed at facilities run by CCA and its main rival, GEO Group — formerly Wackenhut. Both companies anticipate their detention business will grow.

"Those two are huge beneficiaries of overincarceration in the immigration system," said Lucas Guttentag of the American Civil Liberties Union's Immigrants Rights Project.

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Given that our government is stretching its budget as it is, utilizing private prisons would almost seem a good way to channel funds to more critical programs.

On the other hand I think to myself, could it be possible these companies would send individuals to go into so called "high crime" neighborhoods and instigate criminal activity? WE already know of many private companies that participate in unethical activities in order to gain profit. What could stop these companies from doing the same?

Related News Links:
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