The Perpetual Prisoner Machine by Joel Dyer, 2000
Not since the Cold War increases in defense spending has any sector of government experienced such dramatic increases in expenditure as those in the criminal justice arena. During the last twenty years, corrections spending has escalated three times as fast as defense expenditures. In the 132 years between 1852 and 1984, the state of
Supplying goods and services to prisoners, guards, and police has become a massive market at more than $100 billion annually. Today’s prison industry has its own trade shows, mail-order catalogs, newsletters, and conventions. “Justice” trade shows are no different than a gathering sponsored by the computer or auto industries – a combination of showbiz, commerce, and party.
Many rural communities have become major players in the new prison industry. In an effort to lure badly needed jobs to their communities, many a rural county has turned to prisons as a “recession-proof” economic resource. They don’t pollute, they don’t go out of business, and they don’t get downsized.
The largest of these prison companies is Corrections Corporation of America, which was founded in 1983 and now constitutes the sixth-largest prison system in the nation, trailing only the federal system and the state of
The second largest private prison company is Wackenhut, a corporation that also specializes in private security. Wackenhut has annual revenues of over $1 billion derived from its prison and security ventures. Wackenhut is a subsidiary of Group 4 Securicor which forms the largest global network of security operations worldwide, with 430,000 full and part-time employees.
Together, CCA and Wackenhut are will on their way to establishing a near monopoly in the private-prison industry. The management for CCA and Wackenhut is largely composed of former high-ranking corrections and law-enforcement officials – including a former head of the FBI, a former CIA director, a former CIA deputy director, a previous head of the Secret Service, a former attorney general, a former head of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the former chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party, and the former director of the Virginia Department of Corrections, to name a few.
Corrections Corporation of America
2008 Letter to Shareholders
CCA celebrated its 25th year in business by reporting record revenues and net income in 2008, highlighting the strong fundamentals of our business even during a year marked by economic turmoil and recession. Total revenues increased 9.8% to nearly $1.6 billion and net income per diluted share increased 13.2% to $1.20 compared with the prior year. We believe our excellent results underscore our sound operation model, strong financial condition and the continued demand for new prison beds from federal, state and local customers.
Federal Prison Industry –Unicorp
It is the mission of Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (FPI) to employ and provide job skills training to the greatest practicable number of inmates confined within the Federal Bureau of Prisons; contribute to the safety and security of our Nation's correctional facilities by keeping inmates constructively occupied; produce market-priced quality goods and services; operate in a self-sustaining manner; and minimize FPI's impact on private business and labor.
When the prisoners work, so does the system.
“At-Risk Youth: A Growth Industry.”
In 1997 Equitable Securities Research released a report entitled "At-Risk Youth: A Growth Industry," which indicates there are 10,000 to 15,000 private juvenile justice service providers. Publicly traded juvenile corrections companies made $75 million in net profit in 1996 alone. An estimated $3 billion is spent each year on services for juvenile offenders at the federal, state and local levels, and up to $50 billion is spent annually on programs for at-risk youth. Private companies that primarily provide adult corrections services are jumping on the "jails for juveniles" bandwagon: The Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and Wackenhut operate seven juvenile facilities each, and the Corrections Services Corp. operates six.
Wackenhut’s Military Recruitment
“The Wackenhut Corporation has a long and valued history with the U.S. Armed Forces.”
