The
governor’s announcement that the state will end its contract with Management and
Training Corporation to operate the private prison in Kingman, where riots left
16
people injured, does not go far enough to address the public safety and
efficiency concerns related to these for-profit facilities.
A report
from the American Friends Service Committee identified “chronic
understaffing at Kingman… and poor management” as well as “cost
cutting” measures as contributing factors to the most recent riot. The
Department of Corrections was in charge of investigating itself in this
incident, and the governor directed the department to
evaluate all private prison operators. The DOC investigation of the riot
highlighted MTC’s “culture
of disorganization, disengagement, and disregard” of DOC policies.
However,
the AFSC found that “between
2006 and the first part of 2013, the Arizona Department of Corrections levied a
total of 152 monetary sanctions against MTC, collecting a total of $2,315,989 in
fines for staff vacancies.”
It appears
that DOC officials have been aware of staffing problems in both the for-profit
and state-run prisons for some time. A recent report in The Arizona Republic
showed that in the last fiscal year, Arizona had to pay almost $40
million in overtime wages because the 10 state-run prisons have hundreds of
job vacancies.
This
information raises questions around DOC’s ability to investigate itself and
draws criticism of the level of transparency and accountability within the
department. To help restore public confidence, there should be an immediate,
independent investigation of Arizona’s correction system.
For years,
Republicans have repealed statutory oversight of private prisons, while
increasing the number of these for-profit facilities. Until oversight is
restored, an independent investigation is completed and Arizonans are satisfied
that their tax dollars are being used efficiently to protect public safety, all
contracts for future private prisons should be canceled. This
includes the current contract for up to 2,000 new private prison beds.
Let’s
#AskDuceyWhy private prisons will continue to get state support,
regardless of ongoing concerns about accountability, safety and responsible use
of taxpayer money.
