Private Idaho prison to be handed over to state control

The state of Idaho is taking over the operation of its largest prison from one of the nation's biggest corrections contractors, abruptly ending an experiment with privatization at a facility that has reportedly been plagued by understaffing, multiple lawsuits and allegations of contract fraud.

The state plans to begin running the 2,080-bed Idaho Correctional Center, located just outside Boise, over the next several months. Its $29 million-a-year contract with the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) expires on June 30.

The move to end the contract comes months after a report by The Associated Press raised questions about how the Nashville, Tenn.-based company was staffing the prison, and is part of a larger debate over whether prison privatization works.

Studies have arrived at differing conclusions, focusing on whether privatization saves money and whether the companies do a better job of helping reduce the chances that inmates who are housed in the facilities will go on to commit crimes when they are released.

"In recognition of what's happened, what's happening, it's necessary. It's the right thing to do," Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, a longtime proponent of privatization, said of the state taking over the prison.

CCA said that while there were "challenges" at the prison, the company has been and will continue to be responsive to the state's concerns. It said that "despite reported issues, there are overwhelmingly more positive things that have occurred at the facility during our partnership.”

The prison has been the subject of multiple lawsuits alleging rampant violence, understaffing, gang activity and contract fraud, and some of the lawsuits have resulted in federal court orders to improve conditions.

Early last year, an AP investigation examining overtime records and staffing reports from the prison reportedly indicated that some of CCA's reports to the state erroneously showed guards working shifts that were actually left vacant. CCA said last year that there were falsified staffing reports.

In response, the state corrections department asked the Idaho State Police to investigate possible contract fraud.

CCA officials have acknowledged that about 4,800 hours of guard post duties were left unstaffed despite reports showing otherwise, and CCA leaders have promised to cooperate with the investigation and pay the state back for any unverified hours.

Last fall, CCA announced that it would not bid on the next contract to run the prison when its current contract expires.

Private prison contractors over the last several decades have been brought in to run prisons, federal lockups and county-level jails. The number of inmates housed in the facilities grew from 85,500 in 2000 to more than 128,000 in 2012, according to federal statistics.

CCA notes on its website that it operates the fifth-largest corrections system in the country, housing nearly 80,000 inmates at more than 60 facilities. It said that the majority are company-owned complexes, and that it has contracts with the federal government.

The company has contracted with Idaho to run the prison since it was built in 1997 in a rural area where the state has also built several other corrections facilities. The Idaho Correctional Center holds about one-quarter of the state's roughly 8,000 inmates.

Another major private prison corporation, GEO Group, has also informed the state that it will not bid on the contract. That narrows the field of potential private managers dramatically, but the Idaho Board of Correction has continued to weigh whether to keep the prison private.

For years, Gov. Otter has pushed for privatizing certain sectors of government, including prisons.

In 2008, he floated legislation to change state laws to allow private companies to build and operate prisons in Idaho and to import out-of-state inmates. In 2008, he suggested privatizing the 500-bed state-run Idaho Correctional Institution-Orofino.

While he acknowledged his disappointment over the latest privatization ending, Otter said, "you will see ... I'm asking the Board (of Correction) to also engage in listing those non-custodial duties at the prison that could be privatized, such as food, education and outreach.”

The Associated Press