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The Private Prison Industry

The private prison industry includes for-profit companies that provide correctional services. Most well-known are companies such as Corrections Corporation of America (CCA, which has rebranded as "CoreCivic"), the GEO Group and Management & Training Corp. (MTC), which own and operate prisons, jails and other detention facilities. CCA and GEO are publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

A wide variety of other correctional services are also privatized, and thus monetized -- including prison medical care, mental health care, food services, transportation services, pharmaceutical services, telephone services, money transfer services, commissary/canteen services, video visitation, secure email services and more. Together these companies make up the private prison industry, which directly profits and benefits from incarceration.


 Are you aware of private prison contract violations? 

We are interested in hearing from whistleblowers, including current or former private prison employees, who are aware of contract violations or fraud by private prison firms. For example, contracts may require that private prison operators provide specific services or programs that they are not providing, or specific staffing levels they have failed to meet. If you have documentation about contract violations or fraud at private prisons, please contact us confidentially via our contact page. Note that whistleblowers may be entitled to financial compensation for exposing fraud by government contractors.

 

Recent Articles

 

Turn Key Health Clinics: Another Private Jail Medical Provider Leaving a Trail of Death and Misery

by David M. Reutter
Jails face a monumental task in the provision of medical care. Those who’ve just been arrested are often experiencing withdrawal from drugs or alcohol. Other pre-existing medical conditions are routine and routinely severe. Then there are the mentally ill, who land in jail because communities lack ...

Virginia Takes Back One Prison from GEO Group, Closes Four More

On July 1, 2024, Virginia’s Department of Corrections (DOC) closed four prisons and was set to terminate its contract with private prison giant GEO Group, Inc. just over a month later, taking back operational control of its only privately operated prison, Lawrenceville Correctional Center (LCC), on August 4, 2024.

The ...

Tennessee DOC Rewards CoreCivic with Pay Increase Despite Critical Watchdog Audit

When Tennessee lawmakers adopted a new $52.8 billion state budget on April 18, 2024, it hiked outlays for the state Department of Corrections (DOC) to $233 million, a $9.8 million increase that mostly went to private prison giant CoreCivic, which operates four of the state’s 15 prisons. Yet just months ...

Riot at California GEO Group Lockup Sends Message to U.S. Marshals

On February 21, 2024, a riot broke out between rival groups of detainees held for the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) at a GEO Group lockup in El Centro, California. Injuries were reported to detainees and staff of the private prison giant, but the number and extent were unclear. The prison ...

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