Problem With Private Prisons

From Jstor I found The Problem With Privatizing Prisons. Private prisons must make a profit and the only way to do so is to cut back in services that are costs. From my experience the costs would be labor (which translates to security) or prison services (food, medical care, education). The Jstor article makes this point:

Private prisons have no real incentive to rehabilitate prisoners. If they make their profit from criminal society, its goes against business sense to reduce criminality. Staff overturn rate at private prisons can be significantly higher than at public ones, suggesting a constant flow of inexperience in a high-pressure environment. And security at the expense of cost-cutting can have disastrous effects for civilians.

My experience with the United States Bureau of prisons has me thinking they do not have an interest in rehabilitation. A prison union has no interest in decreasing prison populations as there will be less need for the members of that union.

Do read the Jstor article and follow its links.

America needs to treat its people better. Prisons are one place to start.

sch 3/18/22