Governor Napolitano and key Republican legislators are at a standoff on whether private prisons can solve the state’s problem of an overcrowded prison system.

Ms. Napolitano wants authority to borrow money — up to $470 million — to expand existing state-owned prisons, and she has said private prisons are not the answer. She has cancelled a proposed private women’s facility at Marana.

Republican legislative leaders disagree.

“CSC [Correctional Services Corp.] tells me they can provide us with a substantial number of beds in just 10 months,” says House Speaker Jake Flake, R-Dist. 5.

“We need beds,” said Sen. Bob Burns, R-Dist. 9, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, at a Nov. 4 Senate working group meeting. “They [private companies] have money. We don’t.”

The debate is at the core of the current special session.

Andrew LeFevre, executive director of the Association of Private Correctional & Treatment Organizations, was at the Capitol recently trying to swing the balance in favor of private prisons.

“Private prisons have been a success story in Arizona,” he said during an interview with Arizona Capitol Times, “In tight financial times, you get the biggest bang for the dollar.”

State Has 4 Private Prisons

Four private prisons, three of which are in Arizona and one in Texas, currently house 2,315 Arizona inmates.

The state is also negotiating with Management & Training Corp. for the construction of a 1,400-bed private facility in Kingman to house male offenders convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol.

At the end of a Nov. 6 meeting of the Joint Committee on Capital Review, Mr. Burns criticized Ms. Napolitano for not completing negotiations on the contract for the Kingman facility.

“This has been in the works for over a year,” said Mr. Burns. “The legislative intent is very clear, but the executive has failed to execute the contract. We need to find out why it has taken so long.”

Mr. Burns was also critical of the fate of the Marana facility.

“This is laying on the desk of the director at DOC,” he said. “The executive has the responsibility of moving it forward.”

Ms. Napolitano has expressed concerns about the quality of the private prisons.

She told reporters at the time she announced cancellation of the Marana facility that she was continuing the Kingman project only because it was in progress when she came into office in January.

Mr. LeFevre says the private prisons provide the same level of quality as the state-owned facilities and points to a 2001 report by the Arizona auditor general on private prisons.

“When it comes to contracting with private prisons, the Department [of Corrections] runs one of the ‘tightest ships’ in the country,” says the report. “The Department requires private prisons to follow the same orders, instructions and manuals as the state-operated prisons.

“In addition, the costs of the private prisons are 12 per cent lower than state-operated prisons,” adds the report.

Lawmakers Say Operating Costs Are Lower

Legislators are attracted to the potential for lower costs.

To that point, Mr. LeFevre cites a 2002 DOC report that concluded the per day operating cost for Level 2 beds at private facilities was $41.68 while the cost at similar state facilities was $47.34, meaning the private facilities cost $5.66 less.

Level 2 inmates are considered a minimal risk, and Level 2 facilities must have a fence that serves as a line of demarcation for the enforcement of rules, but is not intended to be a physical barrier. Dormitories and multiple-occupancy rooms are allowed in Level 2 facilities.

At the Senate working group meeting, Brad Regens of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee staff said that under state law private companies must show in their bids that their facilities will save money for the state.

“If there is no savings, DOC cannot do a contract,” he said.

He added that with private prisons the state did not have up-front capital costs.

“The state does not have to come up with the capital,” Mr. Regens said. “The state pays a fee per inmate per day [of incarceration].”

Mr. LeFevre, in the interview, added, “We can get a new facility up in half the time it takes the state.

“We have our own architects so we can design facilities that do not require as much staff and cut out redundancies [in staffing],” he added. “With private facilities, there is just less red tape.” —