West Texas Private Prison to Close Following Failed State Inspection
24 days ago
A jail cell at the Tarrant County JailPhoto byKERA News
This post includes content modified using AI.
Introduction
Texas has the most extensive prison population in the United States, with over 157,000 individuals confined in 2021. Of those, about 15% are harbored in private prisons. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), there are now 12 private prisons working in Texas, with an entire total of around 15,000 beds.
A West Texas private prison that holds jail detainees from Tarrant and Harris counties is set to shut down at the end of September, months after the prison failed a state inspection without informing its clients.
The Texas Commission on Jail Standards found issues at Giles W. Dalby Correctional Facility: medical neglect, safety training deficiencies, missed prisoner checks, and missing documentation,
The Rise of Private Prisons
The adoption of harmful crime approaches during the 1980s and subsequent years contributed greatly to the exponential growth of the incarcerated population in the United States. This surge greatly strained public resources, prompting the development of privately-run correctional facilities in multiple states and within the federal jurisdiction.
State governments have contracted with private companies for the construction, management, and operation of correctional facilities, This is in reaction to rising prison populations and limited funding.
Private prisons serve as a pressure valve for the local jail system, as the jail population rises
In the Tarrant County jail, where at least 56 people have died since 2018, prisoners have been reallocated to private prisons, because of concerns about jail conditions.
Controversies Surrounding Private Prisons
The privatization of prisons has the potential to alleviate overcrowding issues, thereby enhancing the safety conditions for both prisoners and staff.
Overpopulation is “correlated with increased violence, lack of adequate health care, limited programming and educational opportunities, and reduced visitation,” according to Emily Widra, staff member at the Prison Policy Initiative.
Private correctional facilities exploit and leverage their workforce and inmate populations to maximize profits for corporate interests.
Private correctional facilities pay employees $0.38 less per hour than public prisons, leading to a $14,901 yearly salary gap. Private prisons require 58 fewer hours of pre-service training than public ones, resulting in ill-prepared staff. This contributes to a 43% turnover rate in private prisons, whereas public prisons have a 15% turnover rate. Inadequate staffing in private prisons has led to penalties and unsafe conditions due to a lack of guards.
Private prisons can transform the broken government-run prison system.
“Private prisons are a tool, and like all tools, you can use them well or use them poorly,” says Adrian Moore, vice president of policy at Reason Foundation.
Privatizing prisons is costly and leaves the most expensive prisoners in public prisons.
In a study conducted in 2019 focusing on prisons in Georgia, it was revealed that state-run correctional facilities incur an average daily cost of around $44.56 per inmate. On the other hand, private prisons were found to have a higher daily cost of approximately $49.07 per inmate.
Tarrant County's Decision to End Contract
The private prison that gets tens of millions of dollars to house prisoners from Tarrant and Harris counties has not met the state’s minimum jail standards since December, according to state watchdogs.
Medical neglect, a lack of safety training, missed checks on prisoners and missing documentation are some of the problems the Texas Commission on Jail Standards found at the Giles W. Dalby Correctional Facility in Garza County, four hours west of Fort Worth, according to a notice of non-compliance
A West Texas private prison that holds jail detainees from Tarrant and Harris counties, the Dalby facility is set to shut down at the end of September, months after the prison failed a state inspection without informing its clients.
Response from the Private Prison Industry
Management & Training Corporation is Dalby’s parent company.
The end of Tarrant County’s contract, and uncertain contract renewal talks with Harris County, led to the closure, MTC spokesperson Emily Lawhead said in an emailed statement.
Dalby is Garza County’s biggest employer, and about 170 jobs are on the line, Garza County Judge Lee Norman stated.
Conclusion
The following are key points within this article:
The Dalby Private Correctional Facility in West Texas failed a state inspection
The private prison that holds detainees from Tarrant and Harris counties is set to shut down at the end of September,
The use of private prisons is on the rise.
There are pros and cons to the privatization of prison systems and their utilization. Ultimately, private prisons would have to meet the ssasne standards as state-run prisons.
The Gregg County Sheriff's Department decided to get into the holding prisoners business. The county bought a closed Super One store from Brookshires then added several floors to it. It houses nearby county prisoners and federal prisoners. It nets a profit of a few million each year.
Terry Fuller
22d ago
if it holds them in, do the crime do the time.Bad thing is if Kamala wins it probably gunna get worse people need to feed there family some how pawn shop gunna be busy
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Local News
