Pahrump CCA detention center not affected by federal decision to cut private prisons

Last week the Justice Department (DOJ) announced its plans to end its use of private prisons, citing the facilities being less safe and less effective at providing correctional services than government-run sites.

After word spread of the Justice Department’s decision, questions began to swirl about the Corrections Corporation of America-operated Nevada Southern Detention Center here in the valley and if it was affected by the action.

CCA explained that although they do operate a few sites that will be affected by the DOJ’s decision, the facility located in Pahrump, at 2190 E. Mesquite Ave., will be business as usual.

“It’s important to note that today’s announcement relates only to BOP (Bureau of Prisons) correctional facilities, which make up seven percent of our business,” said Jonathan Burns, director of public affairs for CCA. “Today’s announcement pertains to three CCA facilities, none of which are in Nevada.”

Only privately-run prisons are affected. A prison, or penitentiary, is a state or federal facility for criminals convicted of felonies and who are serving lengthy sentences. A detention center, or jail, is a local facility used to house defendants awaiting trial, who have not made bail, and for the punishment of criminals convicted of misdemeanors and other minor offenses. Nevada Southern is mainly used to house detainees for Immigrant Customs Enforcement.

Burns went on to explain that CCA is not in support of the DOJ’s action and that CCA saw their few issues in its report.

“The inspector general’s report used to buttress this decision has significant flaws,” he said. “The report’s authors freely admit that they “were unable to evaluate all of the factors that contributed to the underlying data,” and they failed to account for the impact of elements such as population demographics or the scope and efficacy of efforts to mitigate contraband.

“The findings simply don’t match up to the numerous independent studies that show our facilities to be equal or better with regard to safety and quality, or the excellent feedback we get from our partners at all levels of government.”

In a memo put out on Aug. 18 by the DOJ and shared on the Washington Post’s website, Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates explained the department’s decision to end use of private prisons.

“They simply do not provide the same level of correctional services, programs and resources; they do not save substantially on costs; and as noted in a recent report by the department’s Office of Inspector General, they do not maintain the same level of safety and security,” Yates said.

The decision will affect 13 privately-run facilities, housing around 22,000 inmates, in the federal Bureau of Prisons system. The facilities are used mainly to house inmates who are mostly low security, men with 90 months or less time remaining on their sentences, the report stated.

Contact reporter Mick Akers at makers@pvtimes.com. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.