opinion

Arizona taxpayers should 'riot' over private prisons

Now that the riot has been quelled at the Arizona State Prison-Kingman it's time for taxpayers to stage an uprising of our own – against private prisons.

The facility in Kingman is run by Utah-based Management & Training Corp.

In 2010 three inmates escaped from that same prison. Two of them were later tied to the murder of a New Mexico couple.

Earlier this year, the family of a 23-year-old inmate who was horribly assaulted and killed inside the prison announced it is seeking $7.5 million from the state and Management & Training Corp.

Now we've had days of rioting, which has left several people injured, including prison employees. It has rendered numerous buildings within the complex "uninhabitable."

It has caused the state to relocate over 1,000 inmates to other jails and prisons, and it has drained money and resources from other agencies by requiring reinforcements from various police departments, the Department of Public Safety, officers at Arizona's public prisons and nearly 100 members of a special tactical support unit.

For too long Arizona taxpayers have been held prisoner by the state's policy of allowing private prisons.

The Arizona's Republic's Craig Harris, who is covering the Kingman unrest, has written extensively about the private prison industry in Arizona.

It's a sweet deal for the owners.

Private prison operators handle only minimum and medium security inmates. (Imagine how bad it could have gone in Kingman if the facility housed the worst of the worst.)

Private operators are spared having to take care of inmates with serious medical conditions.

As DOC Director Chuck Ryan once put it, private prisons house as "a healthier, less-expensive population."

And we still have issues like this.

Not only that, but as Harris has reported, the state has entered into contracts that guarantee taxpayers will pay private prison operators for a 90 percent (or even higher) occupancy rate.

Unfortunately, the private prison industry has powerful friends in the legislature.

Former state lawmaker Chad Campbell told me in late 2013, "There are times when privatization or public-private partnerships are definitely the way to go. This is not one of them. If people think (Child Protective Services) is a mess, wait until you get into (the Department of Corrections)."

Also trying to get the attention of lawmakers, the governor and the public about this has been Caroline Isaacs, program director for the American Friends Service Committee office in Tucson.

She told me once, "These (private prisons) are not efficient businesses. Also, these are facilities that have chronic and systemic problems. They have to cut corners, and where they cut corners is in staffing. So, you have people who are poorly paid and poorly trained. You have a high level of staff turnover. Also, the total lack of transparency and accountability."

Gov. Doug Ducey now has had his first brush with what happens when a vital public duty like corrections is turned over to a private entity.

Ducey wants a "full-scale investigation" of what happened in Kingman.

His spokesman, Daniel Scarpinato, said, "The state's Number 1 priority is to protect Arizona citizens and our public safety officials."

Okay, so prove it.