Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal proposed raising $35 million by selling Avoyelles Correctional Facility to a private corrections firm. The Louisiana House of Representatives blocked that recently, but efforts to hire a private contractor to manage the facility continues.
Budget analyst Steve Spires of the Louisiana Budget Project points out that Louisiana incarcerates a more of its residents per capita that any other state or country, and spends less per inmate than any other state. According to Spires, the record shows that privatizing prisons in Louisiana has not worked out well:
The privately run prisons in Winn and Allen parishes have more than twice as much prisoner sexual misconduct as Avoyelles. Over the last four years, both private prisons have reported far more assaults that resulted in serious injury to inmates or staff - six at Allen, 14 at Winn and only one at Avoyelles. And while escapes are rare, they are significant. In 2009, Allen had three and Winn had one. Avoyelles hasn't had one in nearly a decade.
Corrections Secretary James LeBlanc has described Avoyelles, Allen and Winn as “identical facilities” that provide a "perfectly good laboratory for comparing private prisons" to public ones. By this measure, it appears the publicly run Avoyelles is safer than Allen or Winn. Savings shouldn't come at the expense of prison security or the safety of staff, inmates and the surrounding community.
More at
Lafourche Parish Daily Comet and the
Lousisana Budget Project.
