Contractor Might Build or Run Facility : Clark Staff to Look Into Private Jail Operation

Supervisor Ralph Clark said Tuesday he has asked his staff to look into hiring a private contractor to run one or more of the county’s jail facilities or even build and operate a new 6,000-bed addition to the jail system.

Though Clark said he is not yet advocating the concept, he is considering asking the Board of Supervisors to study what is becoming a new trend in corrections: “privatization.”

Increasingly, other counties and governmental agencies throughout the nation are turning to private firms to run their jails or build new ones.

Wealth of Knowledge

“I’ve always felt the private sector is a wealth of knowledge and know-how out there, and I sure don’t want to get involved in a big transaction without at least looking at what’s available on the outside,” Clark said.

Clark’s staff members said they have already begun making inquiries and will know “within the next two or three weeks” whether to recommend an in-depth study.

Gary Granville, one of Clark’s executive assistants, said he has talked with representatives of the Corrections Corp. of America, a Nashville, Tenn., firm that operates five jails housing 1,000 prisoners throughout the United States.

“They tailor the package to suit whatever the need is. In some cases, they build the jail and staff it; in others, they come in and run an existing facility,” Granville said. “It would be fraught with problems, of course, but maybe the problems could be worked out.”

The concept of private jail operation has not been widely accepted among corrections officials in California.

‘Some Problems With It’

“There’s some problems with it. It’s not as exotic as it sounds,” said Neal Zinn of the state Board of Corrections.

Zinn said state officials worry that government may be left holding the bag when a lawsuit is filed against a privately operated jail, since the responsibility for housing prisoners remains legally with the government entity.

Most privately run jails, he added, have been minimum security facilities where potential liability is less.

Santa Clara County Sheriff Bob Winter, an officer with the California Sheriff’s Assn., which is also considering private jail operations, said that at this point it “is a bit of a push. We don’t find that just because they’re private, they can necessarily do a better job.”

Winter said he contracted with a private firm for a small work furlough program, eventually paying the company $31 a day while the county could house inmates for $24 a day.

“The ultimate problem with privatization of a jail per se is the fact that a private operator runs the facility, but the government still bears the liability and accountability for any mishandling of the facility. So until we get that legal issue resolved, we’re kind of playing with fire,” Winter added.

Not Tested in Courts

Santa Clara County has attempted private contracting. Zinn said he has received two legal opinions indicating that private contracting is illegal because state law does not specifically allow it. Winter noted, however, that the issue has never been actually tested in the courts and said there has been talk of legislation to allow some private contracting.

Tom Beasley, president of Corrections Corp. of America, said the company has more than 100 active prospects--cities, counties and other government authorities--and has been successful in its five contracts, including two with the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Texas.

“What we’re trying to do is bring together some of the best corrections officials we can hire around the country, use their talents and good, solid business principles and help the public sector solve its prison problems,” Beasley said.

“We will design it; we will finance it; we will build it, and we will operate it,” he added. In many cases, he said, government agencies paid less for housing prisoners than their own costs and had no additional capital costs for building facilities since CCA provides its own financing.

Orange County Assistant Sheriff Thad Dwyer said that while the department would not object to studying private contracting, it has no position on the issue. “There’s not too much information on it yet,” he said. “It’s a very new concept, and on a large scale, it hasn’t been done.”

However, Bob McCloud, general manager of the Orange County Assn. of Deputy Sheriffs, was skeptical.

“We had heard nothing about it until Supervisor Clark mentioned it, and it surprised us, quite frankly,” McCloud said, noting that an earlier management audit of the County Jail recommended against civilian employees manning the facility.