Stop Prison Inc. from Pushing Lockup Quotas

Today In the Public Interest released a report titled Criminal: How Lockup Quotas and “Low-Crime Taxes” Guarantee Profits for Private Prison Corporations.

The study documents the shocking prevalence of contract language between private prison companies and state and local governments that guarantee prison occupancy rates, which can accurately be described as “lockup quotas.”

If the quota is not met due to lower crime rates and a falling prison population, taxpayers are forced to pay for empty beds in what essentially amounts to a “low-crime tax” on communities.

Lockup quotas can have broad negative implications beyond obvious financial concerns and should be prohibited in any private prison contract. See report infographic below and the report here.

The more people are aware of lockup quotas the more we as a community are empowered to prevent this type of predatory language from existing in private prison contracts — 65 percent of the private prison contracts ITPI received and analyzed either guarantee lockup quotas or force taxpayers to pay for empty beds (“low-crime taxes”).

Taxpayers should not be penalized for lower crime rates. The elimination of lockup quotas will allow lawmakers to enact policies that are in the public interest, not in a private prison corporation’s financial interests.