Article: Private Prison (McAllen, Texas)
Source: The Monitor
http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/article_96967832-eb4e-11e2-b7a2-001a4bcf6878.html
McAllen moves forward with private jail project
Interim warden: 'Higher standard' needed for inmate health at La Villa detention center
Inmates sit in the yard at East Hidalgo Detention Center in La Villa in March 2012. City of McAllen officials are soliciting proposals for a similar 1,000-bed detention center that would house inmates awaiting trial at the federal courthouse.
Posted: Friday, July 12, 2013 7:20 pm
Posted on July 12, 2013
-
McAllen began soliciting proposals Thursday for a privately owned and operated “inmate detention facility” with at least 1,000 beds.
The private jail would hold inmates under McAllen’s existing agreement with the U.S. Marshals Service. Under the arrangement, McAllen would provide the all-important federal contract and the private jail’s owner would handle everything else — from design and construction to daily operations and prisoner transportation.
“The city could stand to profit quite handsomely,” said City Commissioner Scott Crane.
McAllen currently holds about 30 federal inmates at the Public Safety Building on Bicentennial Boulevard, earning $52 for every person, every day. At capacity, a 1,000-bed private prison would generate nearly $19 million annually.
Building a jail would reduce logistical headaches for the Marshals Service, which must transport inmates from the East Hidalgo Detention Center in La Villa. Sometimes, inmates must travel from Laredo to McAllen for federal court hearings.
Many details, including the private jail’s size and location, haven’t been worked out. The jail wouldn’t be built near neighborhoods, Crane said, adding that McAllen may offer two city-owned properties south of Expressway 83 to the developer.
“We’re going to offer different sites, maybe two different locations,” Crane said.
McAllen released the 24-page document, called a request for proposals, on Thursday after a weeklong delay. The Purchasing Department carefully vetted the document before publication, said City Manager Mike Perez.
Private jail operators have until Sept. 10 to submit proposals. At the earliest, the City Commission would select a proposal and start negotiating the jail contract in mid-October.
“We will definitely be interested in bidding on that facility,” said Richard Harbison, executive vice president of Louisiana-based LCS Correction Services, which owns the 1,400-bed East Hidalgo Detention Center. GEO Group and other private jail companies couldn’t be reached for comment Friday.
The deal would financially benefit both McAllen and the private jail’s owner.
“I do see this as potentially bringing in a significant amount of money to the city at a time where we’re expanding services in a difficult economy,” said City Commissioner John Ingram. “And we have to be able to pay for that — and try not to raise taxes while doing that.”
Both Ingram and Crane emphasized the jail would hold inmates awaiting trial. After court hearings, they would either be released or transferred to prisons for long-term detention.
Money aside, the very idea of for-profit jails remains controversial. And nobody wants a 1,000-bed jail built next door.
“If you’ve got nothing better, you’ll accept a federal prison,” said Pete Pranis, 70, a retiree who regularly attends McAllen Citizens League and rotary club meetings. “The skill level for the guards isn’t that high so, here, we’re in business. But it is not the type of thing that industry, real industry, is really looking for — to set up in a place with a prison next door.”
Instead, the City Commission should focus on attracting high-tech manufacturing, Pranis said. The McAllen Economic Development Corp. and South Texas College have been promoting rapid-response manufacturing as a job-creation plan for years.
“I’d forget about it. I wouldn’t touch it,” Pranis said, referencing the private jail proposal. “You want another boondoggle like the Convention Center? Go ahead and do it. It’s going to cost the taxpayers more money.”
Immigration reform advocates have opposed private jail projects in South Texas, which often hold people awaiting deportation hearings.
“The first thought that I had was that they’re thinking of locking up more of our undocumented brothers and sisters and making profit off of that,” said John Michael Torres, communications coordinator for colonia advocacy group La Unión Del Pueblo Entero.
LUPE and the South Texas Civil Rights Project have discussed news about McAllen’s private prison project, but haven’t taken any formal action yet, Torres said. The South Texas Civil Rights Project couldn’t be reached for comment Friday.
With any decision still three months away, many McAllen residents have adopted a wait-and-see approach.
The City Commission should evaluate a private jail based on economic, not political, considerations, said Bill Stocker, who owns Palace Cleaners.
“There’s got to be successes in the private prison system, and there’s got to be some failures,” Stocker said. “You’ve got to be able to separate those two and identify the type that will be successful.”
Interim warden: 'Higher standard' needed for inmate health at La Villa detention center
Inmates sit in the yard at East Hidalgo Detention Center in La Villa in March 2012. City of McAllen officials are soliciting proposals for a similar 1,000-bed detention center that would house inmates awaiting trial at the federal courthouse.
Posted: Friday, July 12, 2013 7:20 pm
Posted on July 12, 2013
McAllen began soliciting proposals Thursday for a privately owned and operated “inmate detention facility” with at least 1,000 beds.
The private jail would hold inmates under McAllen’s existing agreement with the U.S. Marshals Service. Under the arrangement, McAllen would provide the all-important federal contract and the private jail’s owner would handle everything else — from design and construction to daily operations and prisoner transportation.
“The city could stand to profit quite handsomely,” said City Commissioner Scott Crane.
McAllen currently holds about 30 federal inmates at the Public Safety Building on Bicentennial Boulevard, earning $52 for every person, every day. At capacity, a 1,000-bed private prison would generate nearly $19 million annually.
Building a jail would reduce logistical headaches for the Marshals Service, which must transport inmates from the East Hidalgo Detention Center in La Villa. Sometimes, inmates must travel from Laredo to McAllen for federal court hearings.
Many details, including the private jail’s size and location, haven’t been worked out. The jail wouldn’t be built near neighborhoods, Crane said, adding that McAllen may offer two city-owned properties south of Expressway 83 to the developer.
“We’re going to offer different sites, maybe two different locations,” Crane said.
McAllen released the 24-page document, called a request for proposals, on Thursday after a weeklong delay. The Purchasing Department carefully vetted the document before publication, said City Manager Mike Perez.
Private jail operators have until Sept. 10 to submit proposals. At the earliest, the City Commission would select a proposal and start negotiating the jail contract in mid-October.
“We will definitely be interested in bidding on that facility,” said Richard Harbison, executive vice president of Louisiana-based LCS Correction Services, which owns the 1,400-bed East Hidalgo Detention Center. GEO Group and other private jail companies couldn’t be reached for comment Friday.
The deal would financially benefit both McAllen and the private jail’s owner.
“I do see this as potentially bringing in a significant amount of money to the city at a time where we’re expanding services in a difficult economy,” said City Commissioner John Ingram. “And we have to be able to pay for that — and try not to raise taxes while doing that.”
Both Ingram and Crane emphasized the jail would hold inmates awaiting trial. After court hearings, they would either be released or transferred to prisons for long-term detention.
Money aside, the very idea of for-profit jails remains controversial. And nobody wants a 1,000-bed jail built next door.
“If you’ve got nothing better, you’ll accept a federal prison,” said Pete Pranis, 70, a retiree who regularly attends McAllen Citizens League and rotary club meetings. “The skill level for the guards isn’t that high so, here, we’re in business. But it is not the type of thing that industry, real industry, is really looking for — to set up in a place with a prison next door.”
Instead, the City Commission should focus on attracting high-tech manufacturing, Pranis said. The McAllen Economic Development Corp. and South Texas College have been promoting rapid-response manufacturing as a job-creation plan for years.
“I’d forget about it. I wouldn’t touch it,” Pranis said, referencing the private jail proposal. “You want another boondoggle like the Convention Center? Go ahead and do it. It’s going to cost the taxpayers more money.”
Immigration reform advocates have opposed private jail projects in South Texas, which often hold people awaiting deportation hearings.
“The first thought that I had was that they’re thinking of locking up more of our undocumented brothers and sisters and making profit off of that,” said John Michael Torres, communications coordinator for colonia advocacy group La Unión Del Pueblo Entero.
LUPE and the South Texas Civil Rights Project have discussed news about McAllen’s private prison project, but haven’t taken any formal action yet, Torres said. The South Texas Civil Rights Project couldn’t be reached for comment Friday.
With any decision still three months away, many McAllen residents have adopted a wait-and-see approach.
The City Commission should evaluate a private jail based on economic, not political, considerations, said Bill Stocker, who owns Palace Cleaners.
“There’s got to be successes in the private prison system, and there’s got to be some failures,” Stocker said. “You’ve got to be able to separate those two and identify the type that will be successful.”
No comments:
Post a Comment