The Lion's Pride Volume 11 (Winter 2019) | Page 12

disadvantages as well” (Antonuccio, 2008). One reason for private
prisons being better than public prisons is “that they are more efficient
and cost-effective than their public counterparts” (Gran & Henry, 2007).
This may be true, but it might also be true because “even if they are less
expensive, it may be the result of cost cutting by the private firms”
(Gran & Henry, 2007), in which case, them being more “cost-effective”
is not a very good thing. Some “private prison corporations claim they
can build and staff their prisons more quickly” (Antonuccio, 2008), but
those private prison officials might not “hire adequately credentialed
staff members” (Gran & Henry, 2007) and they might not “[train] their
staff members appropriately for the types of prisoners the staff will
guard” (Gran & Henry, 2007). No prisons should be trying to hire staff
quickly and be cost-effective when the things they do to become more
“effective” are flawed and only work against them.
Do Private Prisons Make Money Off of Increasing Incarceration
Rates?
Private prisons can gain revenue through an increase in
incarceration rates. This means that an increase in prisoners will cause
an increase in the amount of money that they make because private
prison owners can make money off of their prisoners. As Volokh (2014)
stated, “one can argue against privatization on the grounds that … it
enables greater expansion of the prison system and therefore may