Privatization has nothing to do with saving money and everything to do with giving kickbacks to politically connected contractors like Corrections Corporation of America: Sheriff Michael Page of Hernando County, Florida, is the latest in a line of Sheriffs to inherit the headache that is the county jail. After being operated by CCA for 22 years, the facility had fallen into exceptional disrepair , after CCA had neglected to perform millions of dollars worth of required maintenance . The county took over the facility a little more than a year ago and started the long process of upgrading the security, staff, and conditions of the jail. Initial projections by then-Sheriff Richard Nugent hypothesized that the county could save up to $200,000 compared to what CCA would have charged. It turns out that de-privatizing the jail has actually saved Hernando County taxpayers more than $1,000,000 this year . Maybe Ric Scott and JD Alexander ought to reconsider their bullheaded push to privatize half the state’s prison system .
Sheriff Saves $1 Million By De-Privatizing County Jail