Privatization of Prisons

CURE Position:

We believe that when a state or federal government decides to detain someone against his or her will, that government is obligated to:

• Operate the detention facility in a way that ensures humane treatment and respect for the dignity of the detained individual.
  
  
• Establish procedures that clearly state how long the individual will be detained and/or what must be done to earn release.
  
  
• Provide treatment, rehabilitation, and educational programming that address the problems that led to the detention.
  
  
• Operate the facility in a way that does not exploit the detainee and/or his or her loved ones.

While we feel strongly that all detention facilities should be state operated, we recognize that private facilities do exist and may be built.  We continue to oppose them.  However, where such private facilities do exist, they should operate under a contract that obligates them to meet the above requirements, and clearly states the penalty for failure to comply.  Such facilities should be monitored on an ongoing basis by government jurisdictional authorities with the competence to judge compliance. 

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