[Tallahassee, FL] Gov. Rick Scott said Thursday he will explore state prison privatization opportunities on his own following the Senate’s defeat of a bill that would have required some prisons be bid out to private companies.

Speaking to reporters Thursday morning after a public event on insurance fraud, Scott acknowledged that initially he didn’t consider prison privatization a priority, but was disappointed the Senate voted down a bill that would have done that, and said he’ll explore what many backers of the Senate plan said was a possibility – that the governor could order privatization unilaterally.

“It wasn’t something that was one of my legislative session priorities this year, but here’s what I think about it,” Scott said. “I got elected to hold government accountable, to not waste taxpayers’ money.”

“So here was an opportunity that the Senate had to give us the opportunity to save a significant amount of money … I’m disappointed the Senate didn’t do that. I’m going to look at what I have the opportunity to do. … I’m going to make sure that we don’t waste money,” he said.

Scott pointed out that there are fewer inmates than anticipated and that it didn’t make sense to spend state dollars on half-full prisons.

“Why wouldn’t we save that money and put the money into education, into textbooks, and to make sure we have the right health-care safety net instead of spending the money where we don’t need to?” Scott said.

The Senate earlier this week voted 21-19 against a bill that would have required privatization of most of the prison facilities in an 18-county area from roughly Tampa Bay south. The bill would have required prison operators to guarantee savings of $16.5 million a year immediately in order to get the bid, though many opponents said they didn’t believe the savings would materialize.

A coalition of senators from both parties, including those who represent lots of prison guards, to those who said they didn’t trust the savings figures, to those who said they worried about turning over a critical safety function to the private sector, opposed the bill, which was a top priority of the Republican leadership in the Senate.

Scott’s jump into the controversy – after months of refusing to answer directly what his position was on the idea – drew immediate criticism from the opponents of privatization, including the union that currently represents most state corrections officers.

“The Senate reflected the will of the citizens of Florida when it voted to kill prison privatization,” said Ken Wood, acting president of Teamsters Local 2011, which represents about 20,000 correctional officers in the state.

“Floridians do not want the rules changed so private companies can get secret contracts with no cost-benefit analysis and no public review,” he said.

The House never got a chance to vote on the issue.

House Speaker Dean Cannon (R-35/Winter Park) said Thursday when asked what he thought about Scott taking the lead on the issue that he would defer to the governor and if Scott pursued it, he would likely support him.

“That’s totally his call,” Cannon said. “I’ve said that my personal view is that privatization is one component of reconfiguring our criminal justice system asset. It’s not a panacea … But the bill died in the Senate, so I think as a legislative matter it’s dead.”

“I would defer entirely to him if he chooses to pursue it, I would be inclined to respect his judgment,” said Cannon.

By: The News Service of Florida

Image: Gov.’s Office

prison privatization

[Tallahassee, FL] The State Senate will take up or down votes on pending amendments, and likely decide up or down on prison privatization in most of South of Florida on Tuesday, Senate President Mike Haridopolos (R-26/Merritt Island) said.

The bill, a top priority of leadership, was brought to the floor earlier this session, but pulled from consideration when it began to appear that leadership couldn’t get the measure passed.

An amendment that remains pending would shelve the issue for a year in favor of a study. That amendment will be up for consideration on Tuesday, Haridopolos said. He has conceded that in counting votes he came to realize he likely didn’t have enough to pass it last month.

In an interview recently with The News Service of Florida, he also acknowledged he may end up losing on the issue, but said he was committed to putting it to a vote. On Thursday, Haridopolos wouldn’t say whether the count has changed.

“It’s a very close vote,” he said.

Haridopolos also said it was important to take up the issue again sooner, rather than later because it plays into what the budget will look like. If the proposal fails, he said, budget writers will have to find cuts elsewhere.

The issue isn’t accounted for in the House budget, with leaders there saying if a prison privatization plan does pass, they think it could be factored in at the time a contract is signed with a private prison company.

Photo: FL Senate

The proposal calls for private prison operators to save 7% by running prisons in 18 South Florida counties, about 30 facilities in all. Opponents, such as Sen. Paula Dockery (R-15/Lakeland), have said that the plan won’t save that much money and that the Florida Dept. of Corrections’ (DOC) own math shows that private prisons aren’t necessarily cheaper than their public counterparts.

“The tone of this debate must change. The burden of proof must be placed on those espousing the view that the savings exist,” Dockery said in a statement and reported by the Orlando Sentinel.

“No documentation has been provided proving any savings. One week ago, I asked the sponsors of the bill to provide documentation of their claims. To date, I’ve received no response whatsoever,” she said.

To back up her claims, Dockery has presented the DOC’s own documents as proof that politics – not cost-savings – are driving the debate.

“As shown in the attached documentation … overall, the existing private prisons are operating at cost higher than comparable state run prisons. It seems the $16.5 million that this massive privatization would “save” could easily be found by asking existing private prisons to operate at 7% less than state prisons.”

Dockery’s reasoned push may be just enough to kill the prison privatization bill in the Senate.

By: The News Service of Florida

Photo: Mike Haridopolos by Mark Christopher/Sunshine Slate Images

prison privatization

[Washington, D.C.] The Justice Department (DOJ) has released a scathing report on the unconstitutional treatment of prisoners under the care of the Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation Department (MDCR).

The comprehensive investigation, launched in April 2008 in accordance with the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), revealed that MDCR engaged in a “pattern or practice of constitutional violations” in their jail facilities.

“The systemic failures of the jail facilities have resulted in prisoners living in inhumane and shocking conditions,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Our findings show that due to the unconstitutional operation of the MDCR jail facilities, prisoners have suffered grievous harm, including death.”

The extensive investigation focused on the protection of some 7,000 prisoners from harm in all six jail facilities operated by MDCR, which runs the eighth largest jail system in the nation.

Through CRIPA, the Justice Department came up with a host of unconstitutional treatments at MDCR-run jails, including inadequate medical and mental health care, use of excessive force, inadequate protection from violence by other prisoners and numerous health and sanitation deficiencies.

“I am deeply concerned about the Department of Justice’s findings, and will be reviewing the progress that has already been made to address them,” said Mayor Gimenez in a prepared statement. “The Department of Justice has my personal assurance that they will get total cooperation from Miami-Dade County in this matter.”

The 40-page findings letter paints a pretty bleak picture of the MDCR facilities. Since 2007, eight prisoners have killed themselves and thousands have suffed due to “constitutionally inadequate mental health care.” Five additional deaths were attributed to MDCR’s failure to give the necessary medical care to prisoners suffering from withdraw symptoms related to drugs or alcohol.

Metro West Detention Center

The DOJ’s findings also detail MDCR’s inadequate initial screening and health assessments for new prisoners and their complete lack of treatments for those with chronic illness. Those prisoners with HIV, diabetes, hypertension or histories of seizures routinely were denied the required medications.

The findings letter also reveals a pattern of prisoner abuse at the hands of corrections officers at the facilities, saying that officers “openly engage in abusive and retaliatory conduct, frequently resulting in injuries to prisoners.”

Apparently, it had gotten so bad that MDCR C.O.’s  were regularly slapping or punching the prisoners in the head and/or verbally inciting a physically response when a prisoner would use abusive language or passively resist an officer’s order. A clear violation of MDCR policy and the constitutional rights of the prisoners.

Prisoner on prisoner violence was also rampant, thanks to a lack of supervision in housing units. Just before the department launched its investigation, nearly 675 incidents of prisoner assaults on fellow inmates were reported by MDCR.

“The Justice Department is committed to remedying these deficiencies, and we look forward to working with MDCR to develop and implement comprehensive reforms,” added Perez.

For his part, the mayor seems like he is taking the findings letter seriously. On Thursday, Gimenez met with corrections management and staff – including Jackson CEO Carlos Migoya and MDCR Director Timothy Ryan – to go over the report and talk about Miami-Dade’s “ongoing efforts” aimed at addressing the horrific treatment of prisoners and less-than-adequate supervision detailed in the Department of Justice report.

Download the Justice Department’s findings letter here.

By: Mark Christopher/Sunshine Slate