Privatization Vs Incarceration

The increased use of for-profit privatized prisons in the United States has created a system of mass incarceration due to compromised motivation for these institutions to maximize profits. Over the last four and a half decades, the United States has experienced a surge in the incarceration rates. In 2013, 1,598,780 people occupied state or federal prisons compared to 196,429 in 1970 (“Incarceration Generation” 1). This rise in prison population may be a result of harsher penalties and legislation on non-violent crimes. For instance, President Nixon officially declared the “War on Drugs” in 1973 and endorsed this through the creation of the Drug Enforcement Administration's (“Incarceration Generation” 1). The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, passed
by congress, created mandatory sentencing for offenses related to drugs (“Incarceration Generation” 1). Initiative 593, created in Washington State, was the first instance of the “three strikes” law where people face life without parole for those convicted of certain felonies for the third (“Incarceration Generation 1).
These examples highlight the tough on crime rhetoric that has captured the U.S. over the past several decades, which has led to a demand for more beds for inmates. Private prisons have attempted to meet this demand through contracts with states to hold convicts. A private prison, according to Paul Ashton and Amanda Petteruit is, “a facility managed by a for-profit organization through a public-private partnership with a government contract,” (5). They explain these contracts allow private institutions to take over the operations of state-run prisons or their own private buildings. The private prisons charge a daily rate per inmate to run the facility and to turn a profit (Ashton and Petteruit 5). Therefore, private prisons have the incentive to maximize the number of prisoners and the amount of time each inmate will occupy prison beds because the state pays them for their services on a daily basis, (Christine Link et al.
6). Private prisons have utilized the political strategies of lobbying, campaign contributions, and influential relationships to sway policies that lead to higher rates of incarceration (Ashton and Petteruti 4).
“In particular, private prison companies have had either influence over or helped to draft model legislation such as, “three strikes’ and, truth-in-sentencing laws, both of which have driven up incarceration rates and ultimately created more opportunities for private prison companies to bid on contracts to increase revenue,” (Ashton and Petteruti 4). This disproportionately affects people who are non-white, poorly educated and of low socioeconomic status (Golembeski and Fullilove 1705). Greatly affected by the prison system are poor urban areas. There is an overrepresentation of the African-American population in our prison system. For example, 50 percent of the imprisoned population is African-American, however, African-Americans account for 12 percent of the U.S. population (Golembeski and Fullilove 1705). A significant part of our society is disenfranchised to live in a vicious cycle without proper support from our government and justice system (Victor Rios
33)
The issue of mass incarceration in the United States is relevant to the social science disciplines of political science and sociology. Political science analyzes the relationship of power struggles between individuals and/or groups as an explanation for why humans make the decisions they choose. The problem can be found in the political science discipline through the power shifting towards harsher policies and legislation on certain types of crimes. These laws influenced by activities like lobbying, campaign contributions, and influential relationships hold the interests of different stakeholders. For instance, “Private prison companies, through their Political Action Committees (PACs) and contributions by their employees, give millions of dollars to politicians at both the state and federal level,” (Ashton and Petteruti 16). All the circumstances involve using power and resources to influence policy. Private prisons will retain lobbying firms and lobbyists to support their business interests through Congress and state legislatures (Ashton and Petteruti 22). Corporations can fund lobbyists directly with few limitations (Ashton and Petteruti 22). This benefits private prisons because lobbying efforts help fuel profits through influencing bills that impact higher incarceration rates (Ashton and Petteruti 22). Therefore, there is valuable research on this specific issue within the political science realm. These institutions are contracted through state prisons to take on the influx of inmates entering the prison system. Sociology is also a relevant discipline in the context of this issue. Sociology is about the relationships between people in a society. Marxists theory, a socioeconomic analysis of class relations and social conflict, assumes that class struggle plays a significant role in cultural development and that as forms of exploitation arise, they can be attributed to “basic antagonism between classes” (Allen Repko 111). With the majority of the incarcerated population comprising of uneducated, low socioeconomic minorities there is an evident divide in classes (Golembeski and Fullilove 1705). High incarceration rates have an overwhelming effect on inner city African American males. Due to the geographic area in which these African Americans reside, they are more susceptible to harsher policing tactics (Rios 19). The social sciences as a whole assume that there is order, to a certain degree, in society. Humans are willful and change their behavior based on “anticipated or desired futures as well as present realities” (Repko 110).
The political science discipline views the world through a lens of power relations. The world is a political arena where individuals and groups make decisions in the search for power. This can be said for all levels of politics in every culture. There is a perpetual struggle over whose values, not only interest, will take precedent in setting the stage for making the collective choices. Political Scientists are typically rationalists where people may be affected by external factor, but actors are intentional and capable of acting upon their values. Political science often uses inductive reasoning, meaning there is an examination of specific information to derive a general principle. Therefor,e legislation may be shaped through specific instances to create the general rule of law. For instance, Political science can use laws and policies to increase the power of specific groups at the cost of others; a zero-sum game. Politics is also value and ideologically based. The problem of mass incarceration in the United States has been greatly influenced by lobbying, campaign contributions, and influential relationships. The literature based in the political science discipline asserts the corporations that run for-profit privatized prisons seek profits and use their power of influence to shape the political landscape to meet their needs at the cost of others.
The sociological discipline views the world as a social reality. This discipline pays close attention to the relationships that exists between people within society. It is important to understand subcultures, the institution as a whole, and bureaucratic vested interests. Understanding the issue of privatized, for-profit prisons and mass incarceration through a sociological lens uncovers several social gaps that play a significant factor into who is being impacted by this phenomenon. There are four layers of concentration that prove crucial to incarceration- race, age, gender & human capital (Todd Clear 97). The high imprisonment of parent-aged adults, especially men, negatively affects social networks, social relationships, and life-chances. Clear suggests that mass incarceration affects the community infrastructure impeding the community’s ability to provide a good place to live and the relations among people in the community (105). The majority of incarcerations occur in disadvantaged communities, particularly communities of color.