Cibola County Correctional Center is a privately owned minimum-security prison, located at 2000 Cibola Loop in Milan , Cibola County, New Mexico .
107-626: The facility first opened in 1993 as a county prison with capacity to house state prisoners, and was then acquired and expanded by the Corrections Corporation of America in 1998. It has a capacity of 1129 inmates. Until October 2016 it housed federal minimum-security prisoners under a contract with the United States Federal Bureau of Prisons and the United States Marshal Service . but was soon re-opened under
214-566: A class-action suit in 2012 for its management of Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility in Mississippi, the GEO Group lost its contract for this and two other Mississippi prisons (which it had been operating since 2010). Related federal investigations of kickback and bribery schemes associated with nearly $ 1 billion in Mississippi state contracts for prisons and related services have resulted in
321-545: A 2013 CCA video, Hutto and Beasley were the chief founders. Hutto had years of experience in corrections and was president-elect of the American Correctional Association. The two men met with representatives of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS, now ICE), which operated under U.S. Department of Justice from 1933 to 2003, to discuss a potential joint venture for
428-547: A crime, they asserted that they could not be required to work like convicts in prison. This eventually grew into a March 2017 class-action lawsuit alleging violations of the U.S. Constitution and federal antislavery laws with respect to 60,000 current and former immigrant detainees at the Denver Contract Detention Facility based in Aurora, Colorado. The suit alleged that the detainees were made to work for less than
535-484: A detention facility. On Super Bowl Sunday at the end of January, Hutto personally processed the first 87 undocumented immigrants at this facility, and CCA received its first payment. The company opened its first facility, the Houston Processing Center, in 1984. The Houston Detention Center was built to house individuals awaiting a decision on immigration cases or repatriation. In 1984, CCA also took over
642-519: A doctor". In September 2012, U.S. Congressman Ted Deutch of Pompano Beach wrote a letter to ICE regarding the contract under which GEO operates the facility, requesting a case-by-case investigation. Twenty-five other congressional representatives signed on to the inquiry. A 2014 lawsuit filed on behalf of nine immigrant plaintiffs in Denver alleged they were threatened with solitary confinement if they refused to work without pay. Not having been convicted of
749-554: A dollar a day or for nothing at all. On December 2, 2017, 64-year-old Kamyar Samimi, who had come to the U.S. in 1976, was taken into ICE custody at his home due to his having been arrested for a minor drug offense in 2005. He was imprisoned at the Aurora contract facility, where he died 16 days later from cardiac arrest . In 2012, Evalin-Ali Mandza died of cardiac arrest at the same detention center. An investigation of Mandza's death found GEO employees did not know how to use an EKG machine and procrastinated in calling an ambulance. In 2019,
856-495: A facility to detain undocumented immigrants in Texas. CCA was awarded a contract in late 1983 by the U.S. Department of Justice for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (formerly Immigration and Naturalization Service ). This was the "first contract ever to design, build, finance and operate a secure correctional facility." This is considered to have marked the beginning of
963-619: A federal agency. CCA entered the United Kingdom in 1992, when it entered a partnership with Mowlem and Sir Robert McAlpine to form UK Detention Services. It opened the 650-bed Blackenhurst prison in Worcestershire , England . The stockholders are mostly corporate entities and it is classified as a real estate investment trust, or REIT. Research published in Social Justice by scholars at Rutgers University showed that in 2007,
1070-662: A fifth facility expected to open in late 2017. In 2023 staff walked out of the Junee Correctional Centre over disputes regarding pay and working conditions. The New South Wales government later announced it would not be renewing GEO Group's contract to manage the facility. In the UK, GEO Group are associated with several contracts. The organisation runs the Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre , expanded in 2013 to hold 249 detainees, male and female. In 2004
1177-448: A house for a homeless veteran residing in that city. In February 2013, the GEO Group's private foundation pledged US$ 6 million to company founder George Zoley's alma mater, Florida Atlantic University . In return, the GEO Group received naming rights to the university's football stadium . In April, after pressure from students, faculty, and alumni, GEO Group withdrew the gift. Public relations firm Edelman supported GEO Group and
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#17329097818411284-430: A letter to prison officials in 48 states, offering to buy prisons from these states in exchange for a 20-year management contract with a guaranteed occupancy rate of 90%. Many community organizations have criticized the proposals, arguing that the contractual obligations of states to fill the prisons to 90% occupancy are poor public policy, creating an incentive to criminalize behavior and lengthen sentences in order to keep
1391-587: A new contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement . This facility is unrelated to Western New Mexico Correctional Facility, also in Cibola County, operated by the New Mexico Corrections Department with an inmate capacity of 440. Before the facility was closed in 2016, it had been a "standout example of the problems at the BOP's private prisons". Almost 700 Cibola County inmates staged
1498-458: A new section at New Castle increased tensions at the facility, as the inmates comprised a large group and prison staff lacked experience. The department held the inmates responsible for the riot. Following the riot, Indiana authorities suspended further transfers of Arizona inmates, pending measures to help out-of-state inmates adjust to Indiana prison policies, and to ensure that inmates were transferred more gradually to be able to integrate them into
1605-448: A non-violent protest of prison conditions on April 23, 2001 and were tear-gassed. In March 2013 about 250 inmates staged another non-violent protest, which was resolved peacefully. Prison officials declined to reveal the reason for the protest. As of June 2002, 95% of prisoners held in Cibola County were undocumented Mexican nationals. From 2007-2016, 30 of the 34 citations against the facility were related to poor medical care, including
1712-421: A pass-through contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division of Homeland Security. After local and national protests because of the poor quality of treatment, federal officials announced on August 6, 2009, that it would no longer house immigrant families in this prison. Instead, only female detainees will be housed there. In September 2009, the last families left the facility and were relocated to
1819-617: A political action committee in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act , which bars companies with active contracts with the federal government from making political donations. On January 26, 2021, United States President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14006 directing the United States Department of Justice to cease the renewal of federal contracts with private prisons. As a result, in 2021 Geo Group reported that they had closed six of their faculties as
1926-726: A potential plan to deprivatize the George W. Hill Correctional Facility in Delaware County, Pennsylvania , the last private prison in the state, with which GEO Group had a nine-year $ 495 million county contract. The lawmakers alleged that GEO Group had covered up liabilities at the facility. In 2018, GEO Group entered into a collaboration with the National Federation of Federal Employees called Reentry Success DC, designed to enhance "GEO Group's pre- and post-release services by connecting returning citizens to gainful employment". The program
2033-497: A potential tripping hazard; and unsecured medical supplies, such as scalpels and used syringes, were seen on top of counters. No temporary license was to be issued until those problems were corrected. The Texas ICE facility for processing illegal immigrants has 404 beds for both male and female detainees. It has been operated by CCA since 1985. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Medium Security processing center for illegal immigrants; it has been owned by CCA since 1984. It
2140-558: A result of the contracts not being renewed by the federal government and that their last facility under direct contract with the Bureau of Prisons would phase out in September 2022. They reported that this resulted in a decline of $ 240 million in revenue for the 2021 fiscal year. GEO operated the Parklea prison from 2009 to 2018, when the government ended the contract and excluded GEO from bidding on
2247-457: A severe fire. On July 9, 2017, a facility-wide, eight-hour riot broke out in GEO Group's Great Plains Correctional Facility in Hinton, Oklahoma . Four hundred of the 1,940 federal inmates refused to leave the recreation yards and took control of a building. Three guards suffered injuries and two were taken hostage. Regaining control required the intervention of eight law enforcement agencies to secure
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#17329097818412354-554: A subsidiary, GEO Corrections Holdings, Inc., which has no contracts with any governmental agency, rather than directly from GEO Group itself. Democratic Congressmen Emanuel Cleaver and Luis Gutiérrez disputed that claim in a letter to GEO and its rival, CoreCivic . The Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint challenging the contribution with the Federal Elections Commission. GEO and CoreCivic each donated $ 250,000 supporting Trump's inaugural festivities, according to
2461-454: A total capacity of 35,692 prisoners, representing 45% of the company's revenue. On February 23, 2017, newly confirmed Trump administration Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the August 2016 guidance. In March 2017, Pablo Paez, GEO Group vice president, defended the legality of his company's $ 225,000 donation to a pro-Trump political action committee . He said that the donation was made by
2568-485: Is a 1,000-bed male and female detainee center. In 2016, the Federal Bureau of Prisons cancelled their contract with Cibola County Correctional Center in Milan, New Mexico after 16 years of CCA operations. The facility was under examination for poor medical care and at least three questionable inmate deaths. The medical unit was found to be acting out of compliance in 2014 and given several warnings on incidents leading up to
2675-584: Is a change in company policy, as previously CCA had always constructed its own prisons. The purchase was contingent on the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction agreeing to a high level of occupancy under the contract. The State failed to find buyers for many other prisons which it offered for sale. This was considered good news by the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, the union for prison guards. In 2012, CCA sent
2782-578: Is a drag on profits... company earnings would be strong if CCA succeeded in ramp(ing) up population levels in its new facilities at an acceptable rate". In 2011, responding to an initiative from the State of Ohio to reduce "overhead costs by saving $ 13 million annually while adding 700 beds to house inmates in the overcrowded system," Corrections Corporation of America agreed to buy the Lake Erie Correctional Institution for $ 72.7 million. This
2889-627: Is a system of verification that correctional agencies and facilities comply with national standards promulgated by the American Correctional Association. Accreditation is achieved through a series of reviews, evaluations, audits and hearings. On August 18, 2016, Deputy U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates announced that the Justice Department intended to end its Bureau of Prisons contracts with for-profit prison operators, because its own analysis concluded "...the facilities are both less safe and less effective at providing correctional services..." than
2996-638: Is available to prisoners returning to Washington, D.C., from the Rivers Correctional Facility in North Carolina. By February 2020, the company had expanded the Continuum of Care program to 18 prisons. Later in 2020, the company also opened its Connection and Intervention Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho , for this purpose. In 2010, the company was reported to operate more than a dozen facilities in
3103-465: Is the only privately owned immigration detention center in Florida. assertedly to report on conditions inside the facility, as accounts in the immigrant community alleged substandard conditions. The pair alleged "substandard or callous medical care, including a woman taken for ovarian surgery and returned the same day, still bleeding, to her cell, and a man who urinated blood for days but was not taken to see
3210-675: The Children's Commissioner for Scotland described conditions at the facility as "morally upsetting" and threatened to report the UK and Scottish governments to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child . In London, it runs the Harmondsworth migrant detention centre. This facility can hold up to 661 detainees. GEO Group is also contracted to the deportation of migrants, operating
3317-568: The Denver City Council voted to terminate a $ 10 million contract with GEO and CoreCivic, but later temporarily extended those contracts, and in 2022 approved a new $ 1.5 million contract for GEO Group to provide electronic monitoring equipment for the city. In 2018, two Florida employees of Behavioral Intervention Inc., a GEO subsidiary, were arrested for taking bribes of up to $ 5,000 to have electronic monitoring devices removed from immigrants who were allowed to remain free on bail if they wore
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3424-667: The Mitterrand administration in France . They did not win any contracts there for CCA prisons. In 1990, CCA opened the first medium-security privately operated prison, the state-owned Winn Correctional Center , in Winn Parish, Louisiana . It opened the Leavenworth Detention Center , operated for the U.S. Marshals Service , in 1992. This 256-bed facility was the first maximum-security private prison under direct contract to
3531-784: The Tennessee Valley Authority , Vanderbilt University , and Jack C. Massey , the founder of Hospital Corporation of America . As of 2016, the company is the second largest private corrections company in the United States. CoreCivic manages more than 65 state and federal correctional and detention facilities with a capacity of more than 90,000 beds in 19 states and the District of Columbia. The company's revenue in 2012 exceeded $ 1.7 billion. By 2015, its contracts with federal correctional and detention authorities generated up to 51% of its revenues. It operated 22 federal facilities with
3638-748: The Texas Youth Commission (TYC) fired seven employees responsible for monitoring prison conditions after discovering that the GEO Group-run Coke County Juvenile Justice Center had "deplorable conditions". The seven employees had earlier worked directly for GEO. They had failed to report problems at the county facility, but an inspection by the TYC found the facility to be understaffed, ill-managed, and unsanitary. The TYC ordered that all inmates be transferred elsewhere, terminated their state contract with GEO, and subsequently closed
3745-560: The federal government of the United States generated 53% of the company's revenues. Up until 2021 the company was designated as a real estate investment trust , at which time the board of directors elected to reclassify as a C corporation under the stated goal of reducing the company's debt. The company has been the subject of civil suits in the United States by prisoners and families of prisoners for injuries due to riots and poor treatment at prisons and immigrant detention facilities which it has operated. In addition, due to settlement of
3852-503: The 654-bed Maverick County Detention Center in Eagle Pass, Texas . On August 12, 2010, the company acquired Cornell Companies , formerly Cornell Corrections, for $ 730 million in stock and cash. In February 2011, GEO acquired BI Incorporated, provider of electronic offender-tracking equipment and services, founded in 1978 and based in Boulder, Colorado, for $ 415 million. At the time, BI was
3959-657: The Army Reserves, and the Army National Guard. Thompson was already serving a sentence for first-degree murder in 2003 and manslaughter involving an inmate in 2009. CCA closed the Huerfano County Correctional Center at Walsenburg, Colorado , in 2010. CCA appealed an initial county assessment of $ 30.5 million in property taxes for 2010. CCA's contract with the county had specified that CCA would pay only $ 19 million for 2011 and $ 15 million for each of
4066-473: The Bay Area. In November, 2019, CalPERS , the $ 370 billion public employee pension fund, quietly divested from GEO Group and CoreCivic, as well. CalSTRS and CalPERS constitute the largest public pension funds in the United States. Both divestment campaigns were led by Emily Claire-Goldman of Educators for Migrant Justice, a non-profit organization targeting public pension funds that it says are "aiding and abetting
4173-753: The Berks Family Residential Center in Pennsylvania . (owned by the Nakamoto Group ). In November 2015, a hunger strike at the Hutto Center quickly grew to include 500 immigrant women. They were protesting their extended detention in this center. The Eloy Detention Center of Arizona, owned and operated by CoreCivic, has had 15 detainee deaths from 2003 to July 2015, including five by suicide . Congressman Raúl Grijalva , D-Ariz., said these events made it "the deadliest immigration detention center in
4280-581: The Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Marshals Service. Although they have denied lobbying, private prison corporations specifically target Republican legislators over "immigration reform". The companies' success in lobbying for immigrant detention was similar to their harnessing the zeitgeists of the preceding decades, from "Tough On Crime" and privatization in the 1980s and 1990s. By 2015, CCA derived 51% of its revenue from federal contracts. In March 2017, President Donald J. Trump announced he would increase immigrant detention. The administration decided it would be in
4387-562: The Federal Bureau of Prisons. In a memorandum, Yates continued, for-profit "...prisons served an important role during a difficult period, but time has shown that they compare poorly to our own Bureau facilities. They simply do not provide the same level of correctional services, programs, and resources; they do not save substantially on costs; and as noted in a recent report by the Department's Office of Inspector General , they do not maintain
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4494-556: The GEO Group-operated George W. Hill Correctional Facility, Pennsylvania's only privately-run jail. Family members then filed lawsuits against the company and facility, alleging that it did not provide adequate medical care or proper supervision for offenders. GEO withdrew from operating the facility in December 31, 2008, "citing underperformance and frequent litigations". As of 2018, GEO is again managing this facility. In 2007,
4601-981: The Migrant Operations Center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba , from 2006 to 2012. In the late 2010s, activists accused the company of detaining immigrants under inhumane conditions while complying with the Trump administration's family separation policy. GEO Group denied claims of separating families or housing unaccompanied minors, GEO conducts its business through four business segments – U.S. corrections segment, international services segment, GEO Care segment, and facility construction and design segment. The U.S. corrections segment primarily encompasses GEO's U.S.-based privatized corrections and detention business for federal and state authorities. The international services segment primarily consists of GEO's privatized corrections and detention operations in South Africa, Australia, and
4708-543: The Rivers Correctional Facility in North Carolina. By February 2020, the company had expanded the Continuum of Care program to 18 prisons. Later in 2020, the company also opened its Connection and Intervention Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho , for this purpose. One report noted that GEO "spends 11% of its revenue in Florida on inmate education and rehabilitation". Several inmates credited the Continuum of Care program with helping them to adjust to post-prison life by providing "classes, training and one-on-one case managers within
4815-431: The U.S." In late July 2015 he called for an independent investigation into the most recent suicide. By July 2016, a three-month measles outbreak affecting at least 22 victims was spread by unvaccinated employees. Pinal County's health director presumed the outbreak likely originated with a migrant, but detainees had since received vaccinations. Convincing CoreCivic's workers to become vaccinated or verify proof of immunity
4922-528: The United Kingdom. International services reviews opportunities to further diversify into related foreign-based governmental-outsourced services on an ongoing basis. The GEO Care segment, which is operated by GEO's wholly owned subsidiary GEO Care, Inc., comprises GEO's privatized mental-health and residential-treatment services business. As of 2016, it conducts this business in the U.S. only. GEO's facility construction and design segment primarily consists of contracts with various state, local, and federal agencies for
5029-509: The United States, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida , the company's facilities include immigration detention centers , minimum security detention centers, and mental-health and residential-treatment facilities. It also operates government-owned facilities pursuant to management contracts. As of December 31, 2021, the company managed and/or owned 86,000 beds at 106 facilities. In 2019, agencies of
5136-443: The United States. CCA houses approximately 90,000 offenders and detainees in its more than 60 facilities; it employs more than 17,000 persons nationwide. Federal contracts for correctional and detention facilities generated up to 51% of its revenues in 2015. It operated 22 federal facilities with the capacity for 25,851 prisoners. The American Correctional Association (ACA) has accredited 90% of CCA's facilities. ACA's Accreditation
5243-413: The administration's egregious abuses of migrant families, children, and asylum seekers." A predominantly Jewish organization called "Never Again", as part of demonstrations held around the U.S., protested outside GEO Group's Century City headquarters on August 5, 2019, shutting down the building for five hours, hoisting a banner characterizing ICE facilities as "concentration camps", and refusing to leave
5350-480: The announcement of closure. An inmate uprising in 2014 resulted in two top officials being put on leave. Also in 2016, new contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement re-opened the facility. In 2017, a unit was opened for transgender ICE detainees, who have reported inadequate medical care and mistreatment. Transgender woman Roxsana Hernández died in ICE custody following her detention at Cibola. In 2020 it
5457-413: The best national interest to radically expand the United States' detention capacity, specifically for women and children, by over four-hundred fifty per cent (450%). United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Asylum chief John Lafferty stated that he planned to expand the number of mother-child "beds" in immigration centers near the border from the current 3,500 beds up to 20,000 beds. This signaled
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#17329097818415564-488: The capacity for 25,851 prisoners. By 2016, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) along with GEO Group were running "more than 170 prisons and detention centres". CCA's revenues in 2015 were $ 1.79bn. CCA has been the subject of much controversy over the years, mostly related to apparent attempts to save money, such as hiring inadequate staff, extensive lobbying, and lack of proper cooperation with legal entities to avoid repercussions. CCA rebranded itself as CoreCivic amid
5671-458: The commissioner of the Department of Corrections, and the longtime mayor of Walnut Grove, Mississippi , both of whom resigned from office. As a result of this investigation, in February 2017, Mississippi State Attorney General Jim Hood announced a civil suit against 15 contractors and several persons for damages and punitive damages, to recover the amounts of state contracts awarded under Epps during
5778-719: The companies involved. A federal investigation dubbed Operation Mississippi Hustle , initiated in 2014 or earlier by the United States Attorney and prosecuted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi , examined the relationship between officials of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and local jurisdictions, and various prison contractors and subcontractors. The investigation resulted in indictments against
5885-413: The company changed its name to The GEO Group, Inc. In 2005, the company acquired Correctional Services Corporation (CSC) for $ 62 million in cash, and the assumption of $ 124 million in debt. The company sold CSC's juvenile services division to James Slattery, CSC's former CEO, for $ 3.75 million. Slattery renamed this business as Slattery's Youth Services International. In December 2008, the company opened
5992-540: The company had "114 institutional stockholders that together amount[ed] to 28,736,071 shares of stock." The scholars added, "The largest number of shares of CCA stock is held by RS Investments (3,296,500), WesleyCapital MGMT (2,486,866) and Capital Research and MGMT (2,057,600)." In 2010, the ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of inmates at the Idaho Correctional Center , claiming that understaffing contributed to
6099-399: The corporations' spokesmen. GEO gave $ 275,000 to the pro-Trump super PAC Rebuilding America Now, according to FEC filings. A $ 100,000 donation had been made only a day after Sally Yates, at the Department of Justice, announced it would be phasing out its for-profit prison and detention contracts. In April 2018, a wholly owned subsidiary of GEO Group called GEO Acquisitions II gave $ 125,000 to
6206-530: The country. During the COVID-19 pandemic , the disease became widespread in prisons, including those operated by GEO Group, leading for calls for low-risk inmates to be released to stem the spread of the disease in those environments. GEO Group has developed several programs to reduce recidivism by assisting prisoners in returning to civilian life. In 2015, GEO launched its Continuum of Care program, which "uses cognitive behavioral treatment — an approach based on
6313-399: The criminal prosecution of several public officials in the state. In February 2017, the state attorney general announced a civil suit for damages, to recover monies from contracts completed in the period of corruption. In August 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice announced its intention to phase out contracts with privately operated prisons. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it
6420-507: The design and construction of prison and related facilities for which GEO has been awarded management contracts. On August 18, 2016, Deputy U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates announced that the Justice Department intended to end its Bureau of Prisons contracts with for-profit prison operators, generally. As of 2015, GEO Group operated 26 federal prison centers, for the departments of both Justice and Homeland Security, which would have been affected by this change in policy. These centers had
6527-566: The detainees as "a captive population of vulnerable individuals who cannot easily advocate for themselves". The corporation was paying detainees with snacks or $ 1 per day for their labor which provided all the non-security employment at its Northwest Detention Center , a facility in Tacoma, Washington . In 2021, a Seattle jury found for the detainees, setting compensation for them in the amount of $ 17.3 million, with U.S. District Judge Robert Jensen Bryan ordering an additional $ 5.9 million to be paid to
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#17329097818416634-400: The exclusive U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) provider of Intensive Supervision and Appearance Program (ISAP) monitoring and supervision services. In summer 2018, this subsidiary received media attention for the $ 500 million in contracts it has received from ICE since 2004. In 2015, GEO launched its Continuum of Care program to assist prisoners in returning to society. In 2016,
6741-567: The facility have a higher rate of receiving legal representation than other detainees, however face significant mental health challenges. Corrections Corporation of America CoreCivic, Inc. formerly the Corrections Corporation of America ( CCA ), is a company that owns and manages private prisons and detention centers and operates others on a concession basis. Co-founded in 1983 in Nashville, Tennessee , by Thomas W. Beasley , Robert Crants , and T. Don Hutto , it received investments from
6848-473: The facility under a federal court monitor. The state transferred juvenile offenders to state-run facilities, and the company additionally lost contracts for operating two other prisons in Mississippi. In July 2012, two undocumented immigrants in Florida turned themselves in to police in order to get themselves placed in the Broward Transitional Center, which was holding immigration detainees, It
6955-461: The facility", and "teaching [them] basic life skills like dealing with [their] anger". In order to facilitate post-incarceration employment, prisoners received professional training and materials, and an opportunity to take professional qualification exams. The program also provides support for former prisoners, helping them to find housing, providing counseling, and following up on their living conditions. These services are provided at no cost to
7062-513: The facility. GEO had run the facility since 1994. In February 2012, GEO Group and Mississippi state authorities settled a class-action suit was that had been filed in 2010 against state authorities and GEO over conditions at the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility in Mississippi, the largest juvenile facility in the United States. The settlement required the state to end its contract with GEO, and put operations at
7169-409: The firm's revenues totaled $ 2 billion, and on April 4, 2017, GEO announced the closing of a $ 360 million cash purchase of Community Education Centers ("CEC"), which owned or managed more than 12,000 beds in the U.S., including over 7,000 community re-entry beds. It provided in-prison treatment services at over 30 government-operated facilities. In January 2020, local Pennsylvania lawmakers announced
7276-749: The fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, GEO managed 96 facilities worldwide totaling about 73,000 beds, including 65,949 active beds and 6,056 idle beds. The company had an average facility occupancy rate of 95.7% for 2012. Other GEO Group facilities include the Reeves County Detention Complex , a three-part complex in Texas described as the largest private prison in the world. It houses more than 3700 inmates, mostly immigrants held for low-level crimes before being deported after serving their sentences. Riots here by prisoners in 2008 and 2009 because of poor conditions resulted in more than $ 21 million in damages. A detention center operated by GEO Group in
7383-552: The former prisoners. In other philanthropic work, beginning in 2007, GEO Group annually awarded scholarships to students in Webb County, Texas , in support of their efforts to attend college. GEO Group thereafter "continued to provide $ 25,000 every year, on a year-to-year basis, raising the scholarship contribution to $ 375,000" as of mid-2021. In May 2021, GEO Group staff and inmates at a state prison in Golden Valley, Arizona , built
7490-580: The high levels of violence there. In 2014, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began an investigation into CCA management of the ICC to ascertain whether any Federal statutes were violated because of the understaffing of the facility and what was found to be falsification of staffing records. In 2016, the Obama administration provided the CCA a $ 1 billion no-bid contract to detain asylum seekers from Central America. CCA
7597-452: The idea that you can change a person's behavior by changing how they think and feel — to prepare inmates for life after prison". In 2018, GEO Group entered into a collaboration with the National Federation of Federal Employees called Reentry Success DC, designed to enhance "GEO Group's pre- and post-release services by connecting returning citizens to gainful employment". The program is available to prisoners returning to Washington, D.C., from
7704-525: The industry as a whole, rebounded in the early 2000s. This followed a massive increase in detentions of undocumented immigrants by the federal government in the wake of the 9/11 attacks , which created a new market for its facilities. From 2001 to 2011, CCA's revenue increased 88 percent, and it received at least $ 1 billion in revenue for each of the eight years from 2003 to 2011. In 2012, CCA derived 30 percent of its revenue from federal contracts. In 2012 some $ 546 million for CCA came from federal contracts with
7811-657: The lack of an on-location doctor, failure to perform CPR , and lack of mental health evaluation for a suicidal inmate. In August 2016, Justice Department officials announced that the FBOP would be phasing out its use of contracted facilities, on the grounds that private prisons provided less safe and less effective services with no substantial cost savings. The agency expected to allow current contracts on its thirteen remaining private facilities to expire. The same month CCA announced that their federal contract had not been renewed. The FBOP removed its last prisoner on October 1, and facility
7918-483: The largest increase in immigrant detention since World War Two . Williamson county commissioners in Taylor, Texas, voted 4–1 on June 25, 2018, in the wake of a widely publicized crisis of immigrant detention of children separated from their mothers who had been taken into custody, to end the county's participation in an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with CoreCivic, effective in 2019. The T. Don Hutto facility in Taylor
8025-664: The likelihood that offenders will commit new offenses upon release and return to prison. In 1993, CCA launched the LifeLine substance abuse training program at the Metro-Davidson County Detention Facility in Nashville, Tennessee. In the early 21st century, CCA offers the program in 23 of its 60 facilities. In a 1990s report, Prudential Securities was bullish on CCA but noted, "It takes time to bring inmate population levels up to where they cover costs. Low occupancy
8132-479: The lobby, resulting in the arrest of several activists. Several prison riots occurred in the mid-to-late 2000s. On April 24, 2007, inmates rioted for two hours at the GEO Group's state-owned New Castle Correctional Facility in Indiana. The riot resulted in fires and minor injuries to staff and inmates. The Indiana Department of Correction concluded that its recent transfer of 600 inmates over six weeks from Arizona to
8239-483: The monitors. Elisa Pelaez was sentenced to thirty-three months in federal prison, and others were set to be sentenced later in the year. In December 2019, 13 fathers in Texas sued the company alleging family separation. Due to the controversies surrounding mass incarceration of immigrants in private for-profit detention centers, several banks, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, announced that they would no longer offer lines of credit and term loans to
8346-423: The new contract, while allowing industry competitors to do so. Serious security breaches over the preceding few years included a guard being stabbed. Chronic problems had surfaced, including an inmate in another prison being discovered with secret architectural plans for a new maximum-security wing at Parklea. Another inmate filmed himself with a weapon and illegal drugs, and the video was distributed widely throughout
8453-624: The next three years. It also closed Kit Carson Correctional Facility at Burlington, Colorado in 2016. Appleton, Minnesota , in Swift County , is home to a vacant medium-security prison, the Prairie Correctional Facility , which CCA closed in 2010. Although the state corrections needs additional capacity, neither the Department of Corrections nor the governor favor leasing the prison or contracting with CCA to operate it. In November 2015, state Corrections Commissioner Tom Roy said he
8560-623: The ongoing scrutiny of the private prison industry. Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) was founded in Nashville, Tennessee, on January 28, 1983, by Thomas W. Beasley , Robert Crants and T. Don Hutto . Beasley served as the chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party ; Crants was the chief financial officer of a real estate company in Nashville; Hutto was the president-elect of the American Correctional Association . A founding member of its board of directors
8667-609: The only following the closure of a dedicated ICE detention pod for gay, bisexual, and transgender (GBT) detainees in Santa Ana . In November 2018, an independent autopsy indicated that Roxsana Hernandez Rodriguez, a 33 year old transgender woman seeking asylum from Honduras who was detained at Cibola County, had been physically abused in before being detained in Cibola County. Rodriguez was one of at least four immigrants who died in CoreCivic facilities in 2018. Transgender women detained at
8774-690: The operations of the Tall Trees non-secure juvenile facility, for the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County . Two years later, CCA built the 200-bed Shelby Training Center in Memphis to house juvenile male offenders. In 1989, it opened the New Mexico Women's Correctional Facility in Grants, New Mexico ; it had constructed this facility of 204 beds. In the 1980s, CCA officials met with representatives of
8881-572: The perimeter to prevent escapes, including the Caddo and Canadian County Sheriffs' deputies, the Bureau of Indian Affairs , the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and the Hinton, Hydro, Geary, and Binger, Oklahoma , police departments," as well as GEO's Correctional Emergency Response Team members from its Lawton, Oklahoma , prison, 70 miles south. Tear gas and pepper spray were employed to regain control of
8988-407: The prison population at New Castle. In 2008 and 2009, prisoners at the Reeves County Detention Complex in Texas, the largest privately owned prison in the United States, rioted over poor conditions. The complex housed more than 3700 prisoners, mostly immigrants serving short sentences prior to deportation. They caused damages of $ 1 million and $ 21 million, respectively, as the second riot resulted in
9095-434: The prison. In 2001, an inmate was murdered at GEO's Willacy County State Jail in Texas by two other inmates. The inmate's family sued GEO in 2006, resulting in a finding of liability of $ 47.5 million for destruction of evidence and negligently causing the man's death. In 2009, GEO appealed the court's decision; the appeals court reduced the damages to $ 42.5 million. Between 2005 and 2009, at least eight people died at
9202-707: The prisons filled. They believe that these contractual clauses end up costing taxpayers more than state-run prisons would and add to over-incarceration. In April 2012, To the Point produced a program about the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) which was broadcast on NPR stations. In 2002 CCA agreed to pay more than $ 152,000 in back wages to 96 Oklahoma women denied employment because of gender discrimination. A U.S. Department of Labor audit showed women applicants, who were equally or better qualified than men hired, were rejected. In 2008 CCA
9309-414: The private prison industry. CCA had to have the facilities ready by early January 1984, ninety days from the signing of the contract. Hutto and Beasley flew to Houston and after several days, negotiated a deal with the owner of Olympic Motel—a "pair of nondescript two-story buildings" on "I-45 North between Tidwell and Parker" —to hire their family and friends to staff the re-purposed motel for four months as
9416-583: The reentry and rehabilitation programs, prisons often offer inmates recreational and optional faith-based opportunities. The latter is considered an integral part of inmate rehabilitation. CCA says it offers basic adult education, post-secondary education, GRE preparation, and testing and literacy programs to all inmates. The Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in 2008 that 40% of privately run facilities did not offer such programming to inmates. According to national research, providing inmates with education and vocational programs can reduce
9523-432: The roughly decade-long period when he has been found to have been taking bribes. GEO Group was among the for-profit prison management companies named in this suit. Hood said that the company had been awarded $ 260 million in contracts in an eight-year period. In September 2017, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued GEO Group for not paying immigrant detainees the state's $ 11 hourly minimum wage, characterizing
9630-496: The same level of safety and security. The rehabilitative services that the Bureau provides, such as educational programs and job training, have proved difficult to replicate and outsource and these services are essential to reducing recidivism and improving public safety." The United States prison system provides reentry and rehabilitation programs for inmates. Such programs often include education, vocational training, addiction treatment as well as faith-based programs. In addition to
9737-757: The state of Texas, and nearly three dozen in the rest of the United States. In addition to prison facilities operated under contract with U.S. states, the GEO Group owns and operates the Broward Transitional Center , a 720-bed facility in Pompano Beach, Florida ; the Aurora Detention Facility in Colorado; and the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington , all under contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement . As of
9844-598: The state of Washington has a capacity of 1,575 immigrant detainees. When ICE had renewed its contract for ten years in 2015, GEO estimated the center would receive $ 57 million each year, operating at full capacity. Internationally, in 2010, GEO operated a total of another 10 facilities in Australia, England, South Africa, and Cuba. As of 2016, subsidiary GEO Group Australia operated four prisons ( Junee Correctional Centre , Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre , Parklea Correctional Centre , and Fulham Correctional Centre ), with
9951-584: Was Maurice Sigler, the former chairman of the United States Board of Parole . The initial investment came from Jack C. Massey , co-founder of the Hospital Corporation of America . An early investor prior to the IPO was Vanderbilt University Law School , where Beasley had completed his Juris Doctor degree. Additionally, the Tennessee Valley Authority was another early financial backer. According to
10058-446: Was a step intended to, "end the outrage of private prisons once and for all." Newsom further stated: "Private, for-profit prisons have been used for many years to help the state overcome prison overcrowding challenges, but it is time to end our reliance on them." In November 2018, CalSTRS , the $ 220 billion-dollar California teachers pension fund, voted to divest from GEO Group and CoreCivic because of concerns expressed by teachers in
10165-731: Was characterized by one source as helping in "laundering the reputation of private US concentration camps" in July 2019. In May 2019, The New York Times reported that executives from the Washington, D.C. , office, including office president Lisa Ross and former Trump White House deputy press secretary, Lindsay Walters , traveled to Florida to present the pitch. In terminating California's contract with GEO's Central Valley Modified Community Correctional Facility in McFarland, Governor Gavin Newsom said that this
10272-502: Was deployed to Iraq. It determined that CCA should pay about $ 53,000 in damages for violation of the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act . As of 2017 CoreCivic's shares are mainly held by institutional holdings ( The Vanguard Group , BlackRock , Fidelity Investments and others). The prison industry declined in the late 20th century, as the crime rate was decreasing nationally and privatization
10379-811: Was far more difficult, he said. The Los Angeles Times reported that the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas held 1,735 people and about 1,000 of the detainees were children. In April 2016, an application for a child-care license for the Dilley detention facility, which is run by CoreCivic Corrections Corporation of America, was pending. This facility houses 2,400 children and female detainees. A license inspection in April of that facility had found 12 deficiencies. Those included: all playgrounds showed worn AstroTurf and exposed seams, creating
10486-530: Was formed as a division of the Wackenhut Corporation (now a subsidiary of G4S Secure Solutions ) in 1984 after George Zoley presented the idea of a separate prison management company to Wackenhut founder George Wackenhut . It was incorporated as a Wackenhut subsidiary in 1988. In July 1994, the company became a public company via an initial public offering . In 2003, WCC management raised funds to repurchase all common stock held by G4S, and in 2004,
10593-466: Was holding some of those imprisoned mothers. Although the combined revenues of CCA and GEO Group, a competitor, were about $ 4 billion in 2017 from private prison contracts, their number one customer was U.S. ICE . The T. Don Hutto Residential Center is a former medium-security prison in Taylor , Williamson County, Texas , which, from 2006 to 2009, held accompanied immigrant detainees ages 2 and up under
10700-411: Was killed in the line of duty by an Oklahoma DOC inmate Gregory Thompson at Davis Correctional Facility. The incident was described as Hershberger was conducting inmate movement when Thompson used a "homemade weapon" and attacked Hershberger from behind. Hershberger had been working with the company since late 2021. In addition to his service to Corrections, Hershberger was also a veteran of the U.S. Navy,
10807-452: Was not ruling out use of Appleton, but said he does not like the basic principle underlying private prisons. "The notion of incarceration for profit," he said, "I don't think is very popular in this state." Results of a study reported in 2018 that opening the facility would be too costly. GEO Group The GEO Group, Inc. ( GEO ) is a publicly traded C corporation that invests in private prisons and mental health facilities in
10914-429: Was ranked as one of the 100 best corporate citizens by Corporate Responsibility Officer magazine. The national military magazine GI Jobs highlighted CCA as a solid employer for veterans. In 2010 it ranked CCA as one of the "Top 50 Military Friendly Jobs." But in 2010, a Muskogee, Oklahoma federal court jury found CCA guilty of violating the employment rights of a shift supervisor by terminating his job when he
11021-554: Was renamed CoreCivic in October 2016. Founded in 1983, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) owns or operates jails and prisons on contract with federal, state and local governments. CCA designs, builds, manages and operates correctional facilities and detention centers for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Marshals Service, as well as state and county facilities across
11128-579: Was reported that during 2019, a transgender detainee is reported to have been made to wait thirteen days for medical treatment after complaining of rectal bleeding. Additionally, it was later determined that the detainee was HIV positive. A Department of Homeland Security official sharply criticized the situation, noting that the lack of action put the detainee "at risk for severe medical complications" and "also exposed other detainees and facility and ICE staff to an infectious and potentially deadly disease." On July 31, 2022, Correctional Officer Alan Hershberger
11235-501: Was reviewing its contracts with private firms, which operate several immigrant detention facilities. In the spring of 2017, officials of the Donald Trump administration said they would be reviewing this policy. In September 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he would terminate California's contract with GEO's Central Valley Modified Community Correctional Facility in McFarland. Wackenhut Corrections Corporation (WCC)
11342-604: Was slated to close with the loss of about 300 local jobs. The facility was reopened with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement contract under CCA's new name, CoreCivic . There are open lawsuits and investigations related to deaths of people who were detained in the facility since October 2016. A 2018 hearing at the New Mexico state capitol documented experiences of abuse and negligence at both Cibola and Otero County Prison Facility . Cibola County includes facilities for ongoing detention of transgender migrant detainees, one of
11449-437: Was under attack by critics and legislators. There had been widespread reports of escapes, inmate violence, and deplorable conditions in such private facilities. Speculative prison building, sometimes supported by small municipalities hoping to increase local employment, had increased competition and the pressure to keep prisons filled. The Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), which became CoreCivic in October 2017, as well as
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