As Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey calls for a reduction in the prison population, the state is moving forward with expanding its corrections system. The state awarded Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) a contract to add 2,000 prison beds in December 2015 — half of which will be added to a prison already established in the small town of Eloy, about 65 miles south of Phoenix.
Eloy is made up of about 16,700 people, many of whom live in the private prison. The town has welcomed the plan with open arms. Eloy Mayor Joel Belloc said during a public hearing in November the expansion would add jobs and generate millions of dollars in tax revenue. The hearing also attracted opponents who argued more prison beds should not be the solution for Arizona — let alone Eloy’s stagnant economy.
This expansion has shined a light on the larger debate about the state’s prison population and the use of private prisons.
The expansion of the Red Rock Correctional Center is part of a larger debate about Arizona’s prison population and the use of private prisons. (Nuran Alteir/NextGen Radio)
Here are some things to know about Arizona’s prison system:
- Arizona currently houses about 42,685 inmates, according to the latest statistics from the state Department of Corrections. (This does not include people who are under community supervision.) Some inmates are incarcerated in state run prisons, while others are locked up in private prisons. According to a five-year strategic plan, state corrections officials aim to maintain the daily inmate population at 45,761 during the 2017-2021 fiscal years.
- The Arizona Department of Corrections houses inmates in 16 prisons across the state — six of which are run by private companies. Still, Arizona is home to prisons that take in inmates outsourced by Immigration Customs and Enforcement and states such as Hawaii and California.
- Arizona severed ties with private prison company Management & Training Corporation last year after a series of riots in July that caused significant damage to the Kingman state prison and forced the relocation of approximately 1,200 inmates in response to the riots. The riots are now known as the Kingman prison riots. In an August 2015 report, the state suggested the riot started because inmates were dissatisfied with the way MTC managed the prison. It blamed MTC’s “culture of disorganization” and said the private prison contractor failed to provide critical staff training. Private prison company GEO Group is now running the Kingman state prison.
- Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) – one of the largest private prison companies in the country – operates six correctional facilities in Pinal County, Arizona; four of them are in Eloy. The Corrections Corporation of America PAC has given $127,400 in political contributions since January 2015, according to data from the Federal Elections Committee.
- While cities like Eloy tout the prisons’ ability to bring stable jobs, an Arizona Department of Corrections report published last November found that four private prisons struggled with high turnover caused by low pay. State-run prisons offer a starting annual salary of about $31,900 before training, according to the state Department of Corrections website. Corrections Corporation of America offers a starting annual salary of about $23,520, according to jobs recruiting website glassdoor.com.