"Corrections and education are core functions of government,
and we should maintain the government control in Pennsylvania over them." Mike Fleck (R) Hunterdon County, PA recently
said this in a discussion over the possible privatizing of the Mental Health
Services in Pennsylvania prisons.
Privatization of services in prison has not saved costs and
some hidden costs have been observed. In
addition, it creates a financial incentive to get more prisoners into the
jails. Faith communities in particular
have expressed concerns about private companies earning profits from
incarcerating citizens. Last year, the
Pennsylvania prisons decided not to privatize nursing services.
Rather than privatization, costs can be cut by relaxing mandatory
sentences, streamlining the probation process, and providing community supports
that will help fewer inmates return to jail.
The American Legislative Exchange Council known as ALEC has supported
legislation which would benefit the private prison industry at the expense of
the public good. ALEC has pushed for
tougher sentencing laws and supported programs that replace public workers with
prison labor. Due to a little known
federal program known as PIE, The Prison Industries Enhancement Certification
Program, many inmates are now providing involuntary low cost labor for the
government. Using prisoners for labor is
a very dangerous idea, because it creates incentives to keep citizens incarcerated
for longer periods and disincentives for paroling and rehabilitating those
prisoners who wish to change.
One in every five prisoners requires mental health
monitoring while in the prisons.
Providing mental health services to prisoners requires skilled and
properly trained workers. A private firm
providing mental health services inside a prison would have an incentive to
take shortcuts and withhold medically necessary services. This could jeopardize the lives of inmates
and prison employees as well as prevent effective rehabilitation for prisoners
with mental health disorders.
Treating mentally ill prisoners is a moral imperative. It should not be provided by private
companies who will put their interests ahead of the public good. Tell your state representative that you
oppose privatization of prison mental health services.
