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End private prisons that can incentivize arrest and imprisonment for minor offenders. No cite but commonly acknowledged that creating private prisons also creat

End private prisons that can incentivize arrest and imprisonment for minor offenders. No cite but commonly acknowledged that creating private prisons also creates a demand for prisoners. The US puts a larger percentage of its population behind bars than any other country.

rayiner 11y ago
> No cite but commonly acknowledged that creating private prisons also creates a demand for prisoners. Commonly acknowledged, but wrongly. Look at the inflection points in the U.S. incarceration rate: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/U.S._incarceration_rates_1925_onwards.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/U.S._inc... Growth started in 1972-73. The growth rate kneed around 2000. Compare with the prison prison population: http://static.prisonpolicy.org/prisonindex/graphs/privateprisoners.jpg http://static.prisonpolicy.org/prisonindex/graphs/privatepri.... They were pretty much insignificant until the 1990's. By then, the growth trend in incarceration rates was firmly established, and indeed, was closer to the knee in 2000 than to the initial upswing in the 1970's. What happened in the 1980's and 1990's? Privatization of many other government services: http://www.kevingunn.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/TotalFedEmplPerCapita.png http://www.kevingunn.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/TotalFed.... The most reasonable conclusion from the data is that private prisons are not creating the demand for prisoners, but rather reacting to the demand for privatizing government services generally. I fully agree that private prisons should be illegal, but they didn't create the problem. We created the problem, with three strikes laws and cracking down on probation. E.g. http://www.dc.state.fl.us/secretary/press/2001/timeserved.html http://www.dc.state.fl.us/secretary/press/2001/timeserved.ht.... In 1991, Florida prisoners served about 35% of their sentences. Due to a state law, by 2001 it was 83%.
ams6110 11y ago
The percentage of individuals incarcerated in private prisons is still a small (but growing) minority (maybe 10% or so, but much higher for juveniles). I think you have cause and effect reversed. The war on drugs created the demand for more prison space, which gave rise to the private prison industry. The related scandals and corruption (judges being paid for sentences, etc.) all stem from that.

rayiner 11y ago

> No cite but commonly acknowledged that creating private prisons also creates a demand for prisoners. Commonly acknowledged, but wrongly. Look at the inflection points in the U.S. incarceration rate: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/U.S._incarceration_rates_1925_onwards.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/U.S._inc... Growth started in 1972-73. The growth rate kneed around 2000. Compare with the prison prison population: http://static.prisonpolicy.org/prisonindex/graphs/privateprisoners.jpg http://static.prisonpolicy.org/prisonindex/graphs/privatepri.... They were pretty much insignificant until the 1990's. By then, the growth trend in incarceration rates was firmly established, and indeed, was closer to the knee in 2000 than to the initial upswing in the 1970's. What happened in the 1980's and 1990's? Privatization of many other government services: http://www.kevingunn.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/TotalFedEmplPerCapita.png http://www.kevingunn.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/TotalFed.... The most reasonable conclusion from the data is that private prisons are not creating the demand for prisoners, but rather reacting to the demand for privatizing government services generally. I fully agree that private prisons should be illegal, but they didn't create the problem. We created the problem, with three strikes laws and cracking down on probation. E.g. http://www.dc.state.fl.us/secretary/press/2001/timeserved.html http://www.dc.state.fl.us/secretary/press/2001/timeserved.ht.... In 1991, Florida prisoners served about 35% of their sentences. Due to a state law, by 2001 it was 83%.

ams6110 11y ago

The percentage of individuals incarcerated in private prisons is still a small (but growing) minority (maybe 10% or so, but much higher for juveniles). I think you have cause and effect reversed. The war on drugs created the demand for more prison space, which gave rise to the private prison industry. The related scandals and corruption (judges being paid for sentences, etc.) all stem from that.