I'm not against the idea of private prisons, but I do think the economic incentives are badly setup. If you look at the public prisons of various states with a powerful (in a political sense like CCPOA) prison guard union, you will see them advocating for laws that put more people behind bars.
It really comes down to how you write the contracts just as how it comes down to how you write the regulations, and a hope the politicians don't short money to private or public prisons.
I've thought that private prisons should be paid on safe capacity and not prisoner count. Beyond that, stiff fines and actual prosecution of people when negligence in staffing need to be an item. I've been served by IHS and lack of money in public health care with poor staffing can be a true killer. Plus, actual monetary incentives for after the release of a prisoner. A decent bounty for prisoners who do not commit further felonies for a period of time (5 years?) would incentivize some proper thought on what happens after the sentence.
It really comes down to how you write the contracts just as how it comes down to how you write the regulations, and a hope the politicians don't short money to private or public prisons.
I've thought that private prisons should be paid on safe capacity and not prisoner count. Beyond that, stiff fines and actual prosecution of people when negligence in staffing need to be an item. I've been served by IHS and lack of money in public health care with poor staffing can be a true killer. Plus, actual monetary incentives for after the release of a prisoner. A decent bounty for prisoners who do not commit further felonies for a period of time (5 years?) would incentivize some proper thought on what happens after the sentence.