Idaho’s Governor and Director of Correction say they have a plan to bring home the over 500 Idahoans in private prisons in other states. They want the legislature to approve more private prisons for Idaho.

The question is, is this about bringing Idaho prisoners home or about lining the pockets of corporations? Private prison companies gave money to the governor’s election campaign and to the campaigns of many state legislators, and eight lobbyists for private prison companies are hard at work convincing the legislature to expand private prisons in the state.

How do these companies stand to profit? The legislation the governor is proposing would allow private companies to build and operate prisons in Idaho. Private prison companies import prisoners from crowded state and federal prison systems and are paid per prisoner. More prisoners mean more money.

This doesn't always work in the home state's favor. In Colorado, Corrections Corporation of America in early February demanded an increase in the amount the state pays per prisoner. If the company doesn’t get the increase, the corporation is threatening to remove all Colorado prisoners from its system and replace them with prisoners from the federal government or other state prison systems.

Idaho’s recent experience with private prison companies hasn’t been too positive. One Idaho prisoner committed suicide in a private prison in Texas run by the GEO Group. Representatives from the state who investigated the private prisons in Texas found many problems including unsafe living conditions and a lack of programs.

With the new private prison legislation, any new prison would have to be licensed by the state and corrections officers would be required to attend a training academy. The state would also appoint a full time inspector general to oversee all of the prisons.

Idaho has one private prison. The building was built by the state, but the prison is managed by the Corrections Corporation of America.

This news brief is based on stories from the Boise Weekly, Unda the Rotunda [1], and KJCT Channel 8, Private Prison Company Wants More Money for Inmates [2] . If the links are broken, check the web sites’ archives.