$15M in fines for CoreCivic

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$15M in fines for CoreCivic

CoreCivic, the Brentwood-based private, for-profit prison company, is facing a Department of Justice civil rights investigation into the Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility, which it operates.

The prison has long been plagued by understaffing, violence , contraband and sexual misconduct allegations.

The problems have been documented, long before the news of the DOJ probe. In fact, not only has the prison been subject to critical audits from the Tennessee Comptroller in recent years, but the state fined CoreCivic nearly $15 million for breaching its contract between September 2019 to September 2023, according to records obtained by The Tennessee through a public records request.

Still, as statehouse reporter Vivian Jones writes this morning , the fines could have been more. CoreCivic worked to reduce those by earning credits, ranging from overtime to staff to fill-in when there are vacancies to how much it spent on trying to recruit new employees.

Despite the fines, lawmakers approved a $7 million increase this year for CoreCivic. In a statement, the company has noted that corrections agencies nationwide have faced staffing challenges in recent years and it is working to strengthen employee recruitment.

By law, there should only be one privately run state prison in Tennessee. So how does CoreCivic operate four? Through a web of contracts with county governments. At Trousdale, for example, the county contracts with the company. The state then contracts with the county to house inmates.

Statehouse reporter Melissa Brown this morning explains how it works.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: $15M in fines for CoreCivic