DATA
Enter
Where
Prisons are
Guaranteed
SOURCES: IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST, BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS
GEO (GEO GROUP, INC.)
GEO operates private corrections,
detention and mental health treatment
facilities in North America, Australia,
South Africa and the UK. The group owns or
manages 96 facilities worldwide, totaling
approximately 73,000 beds. This week,
they acquired two contracts in Florida,
adding 1,970 beds to its business.
HUFFINGTON
11.03.13
Lockup quotas ensure that private prisons turn
a profit. If a certain number of beds aren’t filled,
states must pay the prison companies for the
unused beds – leaving taxpayers footing the
bill for lower crime rates. Here are prisons with
contracts that guarantee occupancy of
90 percent or more. — Katy Hall
CCA (CORRECTIONS CORP. OF AMERICA)
CCA is the largest private corrections
company in the U.S., managing more than
67 facilities that can hold 92,500 beds.
It has seen its revenue rise by more
than 500 percent in the past two years,
according to Mother Jones.
MTC (MANAGEMENT AND TRAINING CORP.)
MTC manages private prisons and provides
vocational training across the country. After
an incident in 2010 when three violent
inmates escaped from one of their Arizona
prisons, state corrections officials stopped
sending new inmates the 3,300-bed facility.
MTC threatened to sue the state, citing a
line in their contract that guaranteed the
prison would remain 97 percent full. State
officials renegotiated the contract, but ended
up paying $3 million for empty beds as the
company continued to address problems.
Imprisonment rate of sentenced state or federal prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents, 2011
0-149
150-299
300-449
450-599
600+