![]() In Florida, the state requires private prisons to be 7% less costly to operate than their public counterparts. But no new privately-owned prison has opened in Florida since 2010, and the state has no plans for any new privately run prisons.Īnd as the financial incentives and political winds continue to shift away from merely housing inmates, the private prison industry’s ability to successfully rehabilitate inmates and reduce recidivism may determine whether it can grow - or even survive. Today, seven private prisons, housing about 10% of Florida’s inmate population, operate under contracts with the state Department of Management Services. Lawton Chiles, a Democrat, signed the Correctional Privatization Act over the objections of the state’s top prison officials, saying “a little competition from the private sector should make the (corrections) department better at its core mission.” Two years later, the first three private prisons in Florida opened in Moore Haven, Panama City and Quincy. In December 2018, Congress passed the First Step Act, which gives federal judges discretion to skirt mandatory minimums for non-violent drug crimes and encourages prisons to contract with companies for post-release offender services and electronic monitoring - a possible boon to the industry.įlorida’s history with private prison companies dates to 1993, when then- Gov. The program, now in its third year at South Bay, marks an increased focus on inmate rehabilitation for the prison operator as lawmakers nationally and in Florida pursue bipartisan efforts to reduce recidivism and shrink the prison population by releasing non-violent offenders to diversion programs, including substance abuse and mental health treatment. GEO launched Continuum of Care at two of its facilities in late 2015 and has since expanded the program to 18 facilities, including all five of its prisons in Florida. ![]() All told, 22% of inmates are in for life. About half of South Bay’s inmates are due for release within one to five years, 26% are to get out in five to 20 years, and the rest are in for at least two more decades. Schofield, a former state corrections commissioner in Tennessee, oversees GEO’s Continuum of Care program, which uses cognitive behavioral treatment - an approach based on the idea that you can change a person’s behavior by changing how they think and feel - to prepare inmates for life after prison. “I know people can be skeptical, but I’m telling you from 30 years of working in the business, 27 of those in state government, what I see is working,” says Derrick Schofield, an executive vice president for the prison’s contracted manager, Boca Raton-based GEO Group, the nation’s second-largest prison company. He credits the prison’s education and rehabilitative programs with helping him rebuild family relationships and stay out of trouble. “I’ve been down for 20 years, and if I can touch just one person, then I’ve done something,” says inmate David Jackson, 43, who was sentenced 20 years ago to life in prison for murder, burglary and grand theft. The weekly workshop is a way for the students to meet and discuss things like conflict resolution and stress management. The other half are in for life and have volunteered to be peer mentors in the prison, encouraging inmates to get their GEDs, learn a trade, work on their addiction issues and turn their lives around. Half of the students in the classroom are new to the prison or short-timers - due to be released within the next year or so. Above the teacher’s desk, a quote is painted on the wall: “Live as if you’ll die tomorrow. The windowless classroom has 12 computer stations and is decorated with high school diplomas and GEDs earned by prisoners. ![]() ![]() The men, ranging from their early-20s to mid-50s, are serving time for both violent and non-violent crimes. On a recent weekday morning, about 20 prisoners at South Bay Correctional and Rehabilitation Facility in Palm Beach County gathered in a classroom for a life-skills workshop. Private prison operators like Florida’s GEO Group have introduced more programs focused on rehabilitating and educating inmates as the state and nation move away from a policy of mass incarceration. Never miss a Feature: Subscribe to Florida Trend
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