|
|
| Ga. Corrections to cut monitors at private prisons |
| By AP |
| Published: 02/14/2005 |
|
The state Department of Corrections will reduce the number of people who monitor Georgia's three private prisons on site from three to one. The move, which will be made in a few weeks, is meant to cut costs, prison officials said. Prison officials said they believe it will be safe to make the cuts. "We've had onsite monitors for the past seven years," said Brian Owens, executive assistant to Department of Corrections Commissioner James Donald. Once the cuts are made, a single worker will monitor the three prisons to ensure that sanitation, safety and security are up to state contract standards. Private prisons have been criticized by prisoner advocates and public-employee unions, who say their operators' profit motive makes them inherently unsafe. "The low wages and benefits paid by for-profit corrections firms can attract workers who would not be qualified to work in a public correctional setting," according to a report from the Association of State, County and Municipal Employees. Between them, the three private Georgia prisons house 4,567 inmates, according to the Corrections Department. More than 49,000 inmates are imprisoned in Georgia. The state contracts with two companies to operate the three prisons. Cornell Companies Inc. operates D. Ray James Correctional Facility in Folkston, while Corrections Corporation of America runs the Wheeler Correctional Facility in Alamo and the Coffee Correctional Facility in Nicholls. All three prisons are accredited by the American Correctional Association and by the Medical Association of Georgia, as required by state contract. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think