September 24, 2020

Washington, DC – The Day 1 Alliance issued the following statement by National Spokesperson Alexandra Wilkes on a paper recently published by researchers affiliated with Washington State University in the journal Labour Economics entitled “Do privately-owned prisons increase incarceration rates?”:

“Unfortunately, this paper is based on assumptions that defy basic logic. Corrections contractors have zero control over who goes to prison and for how long. Instead, all sentencing decisions in America are governed by laws passed by the elected representatives and by judges and juries in the US court system. The idea that those decisions are somehow impacted by the mere existence of public-private partnerships, which house some 8% of all incarcerated men and women and have been operating for many decades, is nonsensical.

“Real world examples contradict their main premise. For example, in Texas, a range of criminal justice reform efforts have helped drop the state incarceration rate by some 34% since 2007, as private sector contractors have continued to play an important role in the state’s criminal justice system.

“Even worse, the paper’s authors go so far as to falsely claim that corrections contractors were somehow involved in a judicial bribery scheme. In fact, none of the companies this paper addresses – including our founding members, CoreCivic, The GEO Group, LaSalle Corrections, and Management & Training Corporation (MTC) – had anything whatsoever to do with that notorious decade-old ‘kids for cash’ case, which involved a Pennsylvania real estate developer and two county-level judges.

“There are critically important criminal justice issues to address in America today, but the discussion must be based on facts, and this paper badly misses the mark.”

ABOUT THE DAY 1 ALLIANCE:

The Day 1 Alliance (D1A) is a trade association representing private sector contractors helping address corrections and detention challenges in the United States. For more than 35 years, D1A members have worked with local, state, and federal governments led by members of both political parties to provide professional, humane, and respectful treatment to incarcerated and detained individuals. From day one, we understand we have a responsibility to provide safe and dignified care to those in our facilities. D1A members do not lobby for or against policies, regulations, or legislation that impact the basis for or duration of an individual’s incarceration or detention.

The members of the Day 1 Alliance are CoreCivic, The GEO Group, LaSalle Corrections, and Management & Training Corporation.

Learn more at day1alliance.org and follow us on Twitter @TheDay1Alliance.

Media inquiries:
contact@day1alliance.org

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