NCJ Number
105915
Journal
North Carolina Insight Volume: 9 Issue: 3 Dated: (March 1987) Pages: 74-82
Date Published
1987
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Contracting with private companies to provide for-profit prisons has been proposed for North Carolina, though statistics, cost, and questions of liability and constitutionality have not been determined.
Abstract
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) has offered to build and maintain a 200-bed minimum-security prison. Governor Martin's 10-year plan for improving prison conditions calls for three private prisons serving the following populations: drunken drivers, young male offenders, and adult males nearing release -- an experiment for only 4 percent of the prison population. CCA owns six for-profit hospitals, manages eight more, and leases correctional facilities in four States. No State has specific statutory authority to allow contracting. Law enforcement officials and the American Bar Association disapprove. Cost comparisons are difficult in this new field, and liability is not clear. Public polls reveal approval of contracting for halfway houses, foster homes, training schools, and community centers. 23 footnotes, list of arguments, and list of private prison corporations and their addresses.