Why not consider privatizing jail operations?
Hamilton County examined the possibility of privatizing jail operations during the Corrections Review Task Force work in July 2006. Task force members and County staff spoke in some detail with the country’s largest private jail/prison operator, the Corrections Corporation of America, from whom the County currently leases its Queensgate facility. What we found was that the Sheriff’s department operates a very efficient corrections system, and that private jail operations could not compete with the operating costs that the Sheriff’s department currently maintains. The key analysis point for this determination is that the County already contracts with private contractors for major support services (medical and food) and its pay structures for corrections staff are competitive with the private sector.
