Privatization is not the answer
I posted earlier about the jail overcrowding McLennan County is having to deal with. Commissioners have been considering what to do, and one of the proposals is to contract with a private firm to build a new jail, and run it. Jailers have turned out in full force opposing the proposal. They make a number of valid arguments, which all boil down to one central fact - private jails are operated to make money, which generally means providing reduced staffing and services. Jail employees with a number of years experience are understandably worried, since it would be cheaper to replace them with new, lower paid, employees.
Running a jail is a government function, and not something that should be delegated to the private sector. Granted, county jails often suffer many problems. However, at least there is some oversight, which ultimately rests with the courts. I don't think the same oversight would ever exist for private jails.
There is an even a more fundamental reason for maintaining county control - they are the ones responsible for the problem. It's easy enough to reduce the jail population - don't lock so many people up! There are clearly some people who should be in jail. However, there are also many who should not be, and should not be soaking up our tax dollars.
The first question should be how can we reduce the jail population Until all avenues to do so have been exhausted, building another jail should not even be considered.
Running a jail is a government function, and not something that should be delegated to the private sector. Granted, county jails often suffer many problems. However, at least there is some oversight, which ultimately rests with the courts. I don't think the same oversight would ever exist for private jails.
There is an even a more fundamental reason for maintaining county control - they are the ones responsible for the problem. It's easy enough to reduce the jail population - don't lock so many people up! There are clearly some people who should be in jail. However, there are also many who should not be, and should not be soaking up our tax dollars.
The first question should be how can we reduce the jail population Until all avenues to do so have been exhausted, building another jail should not even be considered.
