FACT SHEET: PRIVATE PRISONS IN THE UNITED STATES Incarceration in private prisons Jurisdiction 2000 2016 % private 2016 % change 2000-2016 Alabama 0 348 1.2 ~ Private Prisons in Alaska 1,383 551 12.4 -60.2 Arizona 1,430 8,285 19.6 479.4 Arkansas 1,540 0 0 -100 the United States California 4,547 7,005 5.4 54.1 Colorado 2,099 3,564 17.8 69.8 Private prisons in the United States incarcerated Connecticut 0 508 3.4 ~ 128,063 people in 2016, representing 8.5% of the Delaware 0 0 0 total state and federal prison population. Since 2000, D.C. 2,342 * * the number of people housed in private prisons has Florida 3,912 12,176 12.2 211.3 increased 47%. Georgia 3,746 7,973 14.9 112.8 Hawaii 1,187 1,405 25.1 18.4 States show significant variation in their use of private Idaho 1,162 420 5.1 -63.9 correctional facilities. For example, New Mexico Illinois 0 0 0 incarcerates over 40% of its prison population in Indiana 991 3,927 15.4 296.3 private facilities, while 23 states do not employ any Iowa 0 0 0 for-profit prisons. Data compiled by the Bureau of Kansas 0 0 0 Justice Statistics (BJS) and interviews with corrections Kentucky 1,268 0 0 -100 officials find that in 2016, 27 states and the federal Louisiana 3,068 0 0 -100 government incarcerated people in private facilities Maine 11 0 0 -100 Maryland 127 25 0.1 -80.3 run by corporations including GEO Group, Core Civic Massachusetts 0 0 0 (formerly Corrections Corporation of America), and Michigan 449 0 0 -100 Management and Training Corporation. Minnesota 0 0 0 Mississippi 3,230 3,078 16 -4.7 According to BJS data, 19 of the states with private Missouri 0 0 0 prison contracts incarcerate more than 500 people in Montana 986 1,481 38.8 50.2 for-profit prisons. Texas, the first state to adopt private Nebraska 0 0 0 prisons in 1985, incarcerated the largest number of Nevada 508 0 0 -100 people under state jurisdiction, 13,692. New Hampshire 0 0 0 New Jersey 2,498 2,720 13.7 8.9 Since 2000, the number of people in private prisons New Mexico 2,155 3,040 43.1 41.1 has increased 47%, compared to an overall rise in New York 0 0 0 the prison population of 9%. In six states, the private North Carolina 330 30 0.1 -90.9 prison population has more than doubled during this North Dakota 96 0 0 -100 period. The federal prison system experienced a 120% Ohio 1,918 6,259 12 226.3 Oklahoma 6,931 7,149 26.6 3.1 Private prison population, 2000 and 2016 Oregon 0 0 0 150,000 Pennsylvania 0 680 1.4 ~ Rhode Island 0 0 0 128,063 South Carolina 0 12 0.1 ~ 120,000 South Dakota 45 34 0.9 -24.4 Tennessee 3,510 7,433 26.4 111.8 90,000 87,369 Texas 13,985 13,692 8.4 -2.1 Utah 208 0 0 -100 Vermont 0 264 15.2 60,000 Virginia 1,571 1,576 4.2 0.3 Washington 0 0 0 West Virginia 0 0 0 30,000 Wisconsin 4,337 0 0 -100 Wyoming 275 269 11.3 -2.2 0 Federal 15,524 34,159 18.1 120 2000 2016 Total 87,369 128,063 8.5 46.6 ~ Use of private prisons implemented after 2000; * D.C. count incorporated in federal numbers FACT SHEET: PRIVATE PRISONS IN THE UNITED STATES

Proportion of incarcerated population in private prisons, 2016

No private prisons

0.1 - 10%

10 - 20%

20 - 30%

>30%

increase in use of private prisons since 2000, reaching General Jeff Sessions in February 2017. The reversal 34,159 people in private facilities in 2016. Among the took place despite significant declines in the federal immigrant detention population, 26,249 people - 73% prison population and a scathing report by the Justice of the detained population - were confined in privately Department’s Office of the Inspector General that run facilities in 2017. The private immigrant population found federally contracted prisons had more safety grew 442% since 2002. and security incidents than public prisons. Currently, the federal Bureau of Prisons maintains the nation’s The private prison population reached its peak in 2012 highest number of people managed under private with 137,220 people. The population then declined for prison custody. Changes in policy at the Department three years before increasing again in 2016. of Justice in 2017 that are likely to increase sentence length and expand prosecutions for drug and At the federal level, a 2016 Obama Administration immigration offenses may contribute to the expansion policy shift to reduce reliance and ultimately phase of private facility contracting. out private prison contracts was reversed by Attorney

Sources: Prisoners Series (2016, 2000), Bureau of Justice Statistics, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. Interviews with North Dakota and Oregon corrections officials. Data of average daily immigrant detention numbers obtained from Immigration and Custom Enforcement and Removal Operations division by Detention Watch Network and the Center for Constitutional Rights as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.

This fact sheet was updated in August 2018.

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