Part II, Arizona for Profit Prison Politics

Cell-Out Arizona Exclusive, Part II: Arizona For-Profit Prison Costs Rose14%; Now Guarantee 100% Occupancy

by cell-out-arizona on Aug. 03, 2012, under AFSC, Arizona, Arizona Department of Corrections, Corrections Corporation of America, GEO Group, Management and Training Corporation, private prison, Privatization

In Part I, we revealed that state officials have known for some time that proposed for-profit prisons will not save the state money. We referred to a state law, now partially repealed, that requires for-profit prison corporations to demonstrate cost savings during the competitive bidding process before a contract is awarded.
But once they’re built, the law does not provide any penalty for failure to actually save the state money. So in essence, the for-profit prison corporations can promise us the moon, but there’s nothing to ensure that they will deliver on those promises.
And indeed, they haven’t. Cost comparison studies have consistently shown that Arizona is losing money on private prisons—an average of $3.5 million per year, according to an AFSC analysis.
The cost of a private prison contract is calculated through the “per-diem payment.” This is the amount that Arizona agrees to pay the corporation to house one prisoner for one day. But contracts with for-profit prison operators are renegotiated or amended regularly, often annually. And those per-diem rates invariably increase.
An analysis of the state’s three oldest private prison contracts, (1) With GEO Group for Florence West, (2) With GEO Group for Phoenix West, and (3) with Management and Training Corporation (MTC) for Marana Community Correctional Treatment Facility, shows that the per diem rates for regular (non-emergency) beds in these facilities increased an average of 13.9% since the contracts were awarded, as demonstrated in the chart below.

Facility/Unit	Initial Per Diem	Current Per Diem	Increase, in Dollars	Percent Increase
Phoenix West	$43.77	$49.28	$7.49	17.9%
Florence West, DUI	$49.55	$55.79	$6.24	12.6%
Florence West, RTC	$39.95	$44.98	$5.03	12.5%
Marana	$43.54	$49.03	$5.49	12.6%
AVERAGE INCREASE			$6.06	13.9%

These records, obtained through a public records request, also show that these contracts were more recently amended to promise 100% occupancy of these private prisons.
Beginning in 2008 with Phoenix West, the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) began working out new agreements in which the corporations agreed to a lower per-diem payment for ‘emergency beds’ (intended to temporarily absorb system overflow), from an average of $30.46 to $10.00 for Florence West and Phoenix West and from $25.10 to $12.60 for Marana.
In exchange for this concession, Arizona agreed to a guaranteed 100% occupancy for all the beds in all three facilities, including the much more expensive “rated beds.” The average per diem rate for these beds is $49.07.
In the cases of the two GEO prisons (Phoenix and Florence West), a 2010 amendment later lowered the guaranteed occupancy for the emergency beds to 95%, but left in place the 100% occupancy rate for the more expensive rated beds.
Amendment 14 for Marana (signed on June 6, 2011) has an additional, more interesting provision. The documents refer to a “dispute” between the Department of Corrections and for-profit operator MTC as to whether or not the 5-year contract renewal was done in a timely manner (ADC says yes, MTC apparently said no). The negotiated settlement of this dispute consolidates 450 rated beds with 50 emergency beds into a total of 500 rated beds. These 500 beds will carry a guaranteed occupancy of 100% at a rate of $49.03 per prisoner, per day.
What’s more, this agreement was applied retroactively to October 6, 2010, effectively erasing all but three months of the reduced emergency bed per diem in the previous amendment (from July 2010). It also guaranteed that Arizona would continue to pay about three times as much for the emergency beds. In essence, ADC is handing over four years’ worth of extra money to keep MTC happy.
How much money? In the July 2010 contract amendment for the facility, the state had bargained the emergency beds down to a $12.60 per diem. Now they will be paying $49.03 per diem for the same beds. Which means that MTC is raking in an extra $36.43 per prisoner, per day. Multiply by 50 such beds, and MTC will make additional profits of $664,847.50 per year– a total of $2,659,390 through the remainder of the contract, which expires in October of 2013. Not bad!
Allow us to pause here to remember that MTC is the corporation whose negligence led to the horrific escapes from the Kingman prison in the summer of 2010, resulting in the murder of a couple vacationing in New Mexico. Yeah, that MTC.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it appears that Arizona is looking to cut MTC loose, at least from managing the Marana prison (they still manage two units at Kingman, for which they have a guaranteed occupancy rate of 97%). The final component of this contract amendment is an agreement that Arizona will buy the Marana prison back from MTC in October of 2013 for the tidy sum of $150,000. You can insert your own jokes about ‘short sales’ here.

ADOC Director ignored state laws on private prison costs

Cell-Out Arizona Exclusive: Documents Show Arizona Officials Knew Private Prisons Weren’t Saving Money

by cell-out-arizona on Jul. 24, 2012, under AFSC, Arizona Department of Corrections, Arizona State Legislature, Corrections Corporation of America, GEO Group, Lobbyists, Management and Training Corporation, private prison, Privatization, SB 1070

Documents recently obtained by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) show that the state of Arizona deliberately circumvented and ultimately repealed a state law requiring private for-profit prison corporations to demonstrate cost savings in their bids on new prison contracts. These records reveal that the state was aware that existing private prison contracts were not saving the state money–despite state laws requiring private prison contractors to deliver such savings.
One such statute, ARS 41-1609.01 (G), previously stated:

“A proposal shall not be accepted unless the proposal offers cost savings to this state. Cost savings shall be determined based upon the standard cost comparison model for privatization established by the Director.”http://tucsoncitizen.com/cell-out-arizona/2012/07/24/cell-out-arizona-exclusive-documents-show-arizona-officials-knew-private-prisons-werent-saving-money/

Hate Crimes in Prison

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SB 1070 putting Latinos in Solitary Confinement in AZ prisons?

Arizona Prison Leadership lacks empathy for public safety

Leadership Culture in Arizona Prisons

For the past several years, specifically from February 2009 through the present time, the avoidance of those consequences for bad agency publicity about operational issues or agency failures has been one of the main concerns for the director of the Arizona Corrections Department.

It was his concern for bad publicity that created the culture to develop an attitude of unawareness related to agency deaths, critical incidents e.g. staff assaults, and inmate assaults, disturbances, excessive natural deaths, suicides and homicides etc. so that when the time came to face the accusers, the director and his executive staff could make claims of lack of knowledge of such issues and walk away from these problems or allegations.

The matter of accountability however does not rest just with the agency director but also with the Governor and her Chief of Staff to whom the director reports to on a regular basis.

Thus it is reasonable to speculate that these most powerful people have no personal knowledge of the director’s ineffectiveness how his agency is operating and whether or not they are in compliance with their own policies and procedures as they are written.

The first responsibility of the prison director is to protect the public. Secondary and other responsibilities include compliance with “color of law” requirements, federal constitutional care mandates e.g. proper custodial care and handling of prisoners, budgetary decisions and operational concerns directly related to public safety, staff safety and inmate safety.

It is the opinion of this critic that the director has failed to protect the public, those who work for him and those convicted felons under his care and custody.

It is reasonable to say that the director exhibits an extraordinary lack of empathy for those under his care [mainly dedicated state employees] by failing to make the appropriate inquiries how business is being conducted under his command structure that varies from location to location.

It is also the opinion of this critic that through his ignorance of those internal and external agency failures he has jeopardized individual safety of those under his care by not inquiring about their wellness and not attempting to find root problems that contributed to those failures and injuries and solve them with logical and cost-effective methods.

Based on his lack of empathy and awareness he has created a culture that will inflict future harm and additional damage to those human elements of the agency’s mission statement as he has allowed those subordinate to him run unchecked to make decisions that are contrary to policy and procedures signed by him as the agency director.

The director, through his silence and unawareness has imposed a most harmful environment for those working and living within the prison system. He has enabled and empowered wrongful decision-making regarding the supervision of human resources and incarcerated persons, the effective management of the prison population through poor classification procedures and logistic and support services paid for by Arizona taxpayers.

During the past several years, the director has been warned by many of serious issues within the agency.  The raising of many red flags that indicated trouble and internal issues that have yet to be addressed by him or his chain of command as he refuses to act on those matters until they are at critical mass.

The Kingman escape for example caused him to review private prison supervision and inmate classification for such locations but did nothing for the training or staffing of the public prisons that are just as susceptible to escapes, hostage taking or other disturbances. Eight months after the Kingman escape, internal audits revealed similar security breaches at other state prisons with no immediate desire to fix the problems.

Although he has sought temporary and weak corrective actions regarding the issue of medical care, deaths, suicides, staff issues and inmate on staff assaults, he has not taking any affirmative action to reduce prison violence on staff and inmates.

Instead he has chosen methods of punishment of those at the lower levels as an alternative of focusing on the lack of leadership within those state complexes throughout the state.

In fact, he has replaced wardens with formerly retired warden that were once members on his executive team in the past. This ‘good ole boy” system prevents effective communication and fairness for those who depend on leadership to balance the workplace. It also developed barriers for others who have worked with dedication and loyalty for future promotions and opportunities.

Today his subordinates are still operating unchecked and unsupervised in areas where consultation should be made with the higher echelon to ensure legal implications and agency objectives and statements are met in according with the strategic plan and ethical conduct.

The director, claiming to have an open door policy has always re-directed anyone’s complaint back to the institutional level creating or causing extreme hardship, embarrassment or harassment to the individual who took him up on his open door policy. This is detrimental to staffs morale and often includes disciplinary action some time after the meeting was conducted.

Unfortunately, this critic has warned the director personally several times while inside his office with a face to face meeting while his direct and indirect supervisors ignore these red flags and refuse to advise the director of issues at the lower end of all institutional operational locations.

The director does not yet acknowledge the potential risks that are present today in the Arizona prison system. He denies there are systemic flaws and denies problems with staffing patterns, medical and mental health care, physical plant deterioration and fiscal squandering by those under his command.

Hence this avoidance for bad publicity has resulted in:

·        The Governor’s Office not being aware of operational and support failures under the care of the agency director

·        One could argue that the Governor’s Chief of Staff has a responsibility to ask the right questions when meeting with the director and should be held accountable for all failures or damages.

·        Since many red flags have been raised, the Chief of Staff or Governor’s Office have failed to inquire specifically on related corrective action and findings.

·        The director has engaged in an attitude of no discussion and no dissent with those who know the problems of the agency by creating a culture of fear and intimidation so that no encounters can be made safely without retaliation.

·        A lack of awareness of his responsibilities as the director, information delivered through whistleblowers or critics including the media and ignorance of his own policies and procedures.

It is the opinion of this critic that in order to rectify and correct this status, the director should enable a team for monitoring and oversight on all those dire and pressing issues brought forth by the whistleblowers, the media and other red flag reports given to him through time since he took office.

He should implement an assessment / investigative tool that can monitor and assess progress, corrective action and promulgate new policies and procedures to change the standards at all prison complexes in accordance with all legal standards including federal, state and local laws.  

This assessment tool should not be interdependent on his direct supervision or control. It must function independently without fear of intimidation or retaliation if in disagreement with the director.

Seven Deadly Sins in Prisons

Putting two and two together and coming up with seven is a likely conclusion if you have ever been to prison or worked inside of one in the past twenty five some years. Fact is that prisons and the Bible have a lot more in common as much of the stories written in the Holy Book refer to misery of those suffering imprisonment as well as those numerous tales of the seven sins of life and how they are interrelated with the way we live our lives and do our work inside these draconic dungeons called penitentiaries.

 When you are carefully position the pieces of the puzzles together, someone from the outside can easily glean and gather enough of a perspective to conclude that prisons are filled with these deadly sins in one way or another as mankind suffers sorrow , pain and inhumanity during this era of mass incarceration in our state prisons and jails.

The practice of committing sins has not only been a favorite pastime of humans throughout the ages but has become a daily event for those who live on the edge of life and ignore the moral compass that has been implanted in our minds since childhood. It is with serious considerations that personal experiences have revealed the ever presence of all sins as described in horror by those who worked and lived inside prisons.

Pride is excessive beliefs in one's own abilities that ignores the other elements of being a fair and open minded person in a position of power and influence with regards to the lives of those incarcerated and who dutifully work there for a living. Pride is an obstacle to common sense and is often the reason for bad judgments and decisions when the lack of humility allows mistakes to be made without second thoughts but with dire consequences.

Holding powers of life and death over other human beings created a thing called vanity that distorts the well being of others for the sake of themselves. It is this self-love that destroys the very nature of a good administrator as they quickly sink into the quicksand of the political environment they are now entrapped without escape. Pride turns into arrogance over time that obstructs due process, fairness as well as lawful conduct.

Envy is the desire to obtain or acquire the status, the position or the power of others sacrificing personal values in order to gain a foot into the door of success and power. Envy can create a competitive spirit that becomes destructive and selfish as they want to succeed at the expense of others and gain that upper hand of those who they view as smarter, luckier or more intelligent than themselves but are willing to compromise their own principles to gain entry into the management world. Envy will result in the willingness to cheat others and promotes discrimination and harassment.

Gluttony is an enormous desire to want more than they can handle or need. It is a desire to want the things they don't really need to do the job but gives them the self satisfaction of having it just in case. A glutton wants power, influence, control all wrapped into one ball so they can wield their position of authority on those lacking the statutory or administrative positions to do their job properly.

Gluttons squash the desire to do it right and do it with honor as they were taught by their peers, mentors or teachers. Gluttons lack self-control and impose their evil will on others without regards to policies, laws or statutes that exist to protect others.

Lust is a mistaken quality for love of the job or persons as it reflects one's self pleasures and desires rather than filling the needs of others first. Lust is destructive as it takes away more and more from the soul as it craves the desire for the flesh, the pain and the sorrow that exists in a darkened world filled with human suffering and misery. Lust pollutes the mind and soul of all things that are right and ignores consequences or reckless acts or tacit approval for others to commit wrongdoings denying that they had anything to do with the wrongful act.

Anger or Wrath is another craving of the body and not the soul as it focuses on revenge and retribution for others to suffer and see life as an eye for an eye kind of relationship. Anger manifests a fury that is imposed on others through misguided use of force, living conditions, punitive sanctions and other tools given to management to impose their will upon the prison world and its inhabitants. This political wrath is both irritating and intimidating to others who seek fairness and justice in most situations. This wrath will expose many to needless punishment and torture whether physical or psychological in nature.

Greed is the desire to own everything within your span of control and beyond. It creates a desire to travel beyond your normal realms of reality and puts risk to your own status and ruins relationships that have become covetousness rather than sharing or providing guidance to others to enhance the job, challenge or mission in a more logical and sensible manner. Your willingness to compromise your own morals or standards is in danger of being lost, as your desire for materialistic growth exceeds your ability to cover the costs. Greed will create barriers that will impede your span of control and results in corruption from the top to the bottom as others will act inappropriately without role models.

Sloth is a natural result of expending all your natural energy on projects that require no physical efforts or spiritual awakening. This sin is a quiet killer as it creeps up on you and destroys your very fiber of morality and allows you to be exposed or vulnerable to the other sins already described within the work place or prison world.

This laziness can result in a level of complacency that will allow disorder and insubordination to grow and reel out of control. You will lose respect and your expectations are now in left in the hands of others who do not have your best interest in mind as they risk your trust to do wanton ill on those incarcerated and without self-control or accountability by those in charge. Being a sloth in character, work ethics and ideology will result in the formation of work place gangs, mass confusion, failures or flaws, an increase in assaults on persons and serious disturbances or turmoil within the prison settings.

Source:

http://www.deadlysins.com/sins/index.htm