Mass Incarcerations (Private vs Public Prisons)

Mass incarceration in the United States has increased significantly since the early 2000s. Federal contracts with private prisons have fueled the number of people sentenced every year, as the financial gain is higher when they house more inmates. The American government has signed hundreds of agreements with the private sector because they meet the demand much quicker and are perceived as cost-effective for many taxpayers. Unfortunately, private prisons have failed to effectively address many of the issues vital to the well-being of inmates and employees of private correctional facilities.

Private-Prison-State-Map-website-1.png

Download PNG • 418KB

For long, employees have been undertrained and underpaid for the type of work they must handle in a correctional facility. Inmates are typically selected based on their offense, skin color, citizenship, and even age. The programs offered are not enough to lower recidivism rates among inmates because it would simply shut down the private prison business due to the reliance on the number of inmates. Previous statistics have shown that people who have served their sentence at private prisons are more likely to be rearrested and resentenced than those who served at public prisons.

There are many factors that contribute to why private federal contracts are correlated with the increase of mass incarceration across the nation. Though recent executive orders have been implemented and experts in criminal justice have fought for the end of private prisons, it is in the hands of the community to eradicate these unlawful prisons.