Private prisons to lock in growth on more demand: U.S. private prison operators may have lost their "recession-proof" tag, but analysts still expect the industry to ride out the current slump, propelled by rising demand for its services and the cost benefits of outsourcing.

Groundbreaking Ceremony Held at New Fannin County Jail: The groundbreaking for the new Fannin County Jail & Sheriff's Office may have been about more than just turning over some dirt. If all goes according to plan, the facility may turn out to be one of the major economic developments in recent county history.

Garza, the Little County that Still Can: The citizens of Post and Garza County have long been made up pioneer stock---folks who are more than able to fend for themselves but happy to offer assistance to a neighbor with a moment’s notice. Ten years ago, in this rugged rural and drought stricken county of Garza, dependence on oil and cattle was not a good thing. About 45 miles South of Lubbock sits Post, the County seat and the economic situation then was a grim one.

Avalon Community Services: An Oklahoma-based corporation operating private correctional facilities in Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado. 

Cornell Corrections: Operates 55 facilities adult and juvenile facilities in 12 U.S. states. 

Correctional Services Corporation: A leading developer and manager of privatized correctional and detention facilities in the United States, with both adult and juvenile facilities in 22 states & Puerto Rico.

Corplan Corrections: Corplan Correction has developed prisons, jails, correction centers and detention centers (both adult and juvenile) nation-wide and is able to provide full service, from conception, to “selling” the concept to your community, interface with government officials, design, build, manage and financing.

Corrections Corporation of America: The fourth largest correctional system in the U.S., with over 73,000 beds in 82 facilities. 

Prison Realty Trust: Own 50 facilities in the U.S. and U.K. 

Wackenhut Corrections: Operates both adult and juvenile facilities in the U.S. and abroad; a facility list is available.

Progress in Zapata County: For almost five years Sheriff Sigfredo Gonzalez Jr. had lobbied the commissioners to double the number of beds in his current 48-bed jail. He had proved a more than able administrator.

Prison construction Goes Green: Corplan Corrections, one of the U.S. leaders in new prison construction has announced that it is developing a design concept for new prison facilities that takes advantage of the latest in environmental technology.

Comparing Public and Private Prisons on Quality: The most important body of evidence on the relative quality of privatized correctional facilities comes from a wealth of studies performed by government agencies, universities, auditors, and research organizations.

Trends in Corrections Privatization: Private prisons enjoyed another banner year in 2007. All levels of government expanded their use of private correctional services, sustaining the trend of rapid growth in prison privatization. And there were signs of far more sweeping policies, as some officials began looking beyond contracts for individual prisons.

Garza, the County that Could: If someone told you a Texas County just snagged a $25 million project that could produce as many as 240 new jobs, you would likely start thinking of Bexar, Dallas, or some other big region with a large tax basis and sophisticated marketing machinery. Yet, a small and sparsely populated Texas county has not only accomplished all this but has done so at absolutely no cost or financial risk to its taxpayers.

Inmate Rehabilitation 101: Across the country, prisons have tried different methods to rehabilitate their prisoners and prepare them for a successful release. Many prisons are using education as a tool for rehabilitation. For example, prisons now offer general equivalency diploma (GED) accreditation, English as a Second Language (ESL) studies, and job readiness training. Some prisons even offer certifications and college credits.

Corporate America Does Prison: Move over, airlines and healthcare, and let's shine the spotlight on a more unusual profitable industry: private prisons. The Economist came out with an article on July 26th that asks whether private prisons are the next step in dealing with overcrowded prisons. Their business is booming: it's cheaper for states to hire out prison accommodations and prisoners get a better prison environment. Wait, what exactly are private prisons?

Jointly Owned Tax-Exempt Entity Haskell County Commissioner, Tiffen Mayfield has been a farmer for 40 years and knows a thing or two about, tenacity grit and optimism. With the County facing what Mayfield calls, "dire economic straits" the entire County and City leadership rose up as one to combat and lick the dilemma of lost jobs, a decreasing tax base and a dwindling population.

James Parkey's Vision: Private prison authority and President of Corplan Corrections, James Parkey, provides the empirical context for understanding the debate over private prisons, examining their historical origins, present status and future prospects. Intriguingly, Parkey notes that many aspects of the criminal justice system have long been privatized. Many states, for example, house one-third to two-thirds of their interned juveniles in private facilities. Seen in this light, opposition to private prisons is difficult to understand.

Innovations: Help Control Prison Health Costs: A prison inmate falls and hurts his knee during a rough-and-tumble basketball game. Prison medical workers examine him and decide he should see an orthopedist. But instead of spending $200 to $1000 to transport the prisoner to an outside facility, medical staffers make a high tech appointment with the doctor, enabling the patient to see a specialist via telemedicine.

Comparing the Performance of Private and Public Prisons: The Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) recently released its latest cost comparison study between the ADC operated facilities and private facilities operated for the state. State law requires these occasional reviews to be conducted and the previous two studies found that the private facilities operated with significantly fewer tax dollars than their government-run counterparts, achieving cost savings of 17, 13.6 and 10.8 percent in 1997, 1998, and 1999 respectively. Despite this history and a clear track record of success throughout the country, the latest ADC review suggests a curious shift - that private prison costs were 8.5 and 13.5 percent higher than state costs.

Corplan Corrections Adopts New Utility Free Buildings: One of the largest expenses for housing industries, such as prisons, hotels and multi-family projects is the cost of power, and the cost of heating air and water. By use of environmental technologies, Parkey believes that 70-90% of the energy costs will be eliminated.

Studies of private and public correctional facilities in the United States: The state of corrections has come under attack by many during the past decade. Many contend that the current state of affairs will not work in the 21st century. Some argue that the public sector is incapable of handling the complex and changing dynamics associated with corrections, and therefore more prisons need to be handed over to the private sector; others argue that private industry should not be a part of the public matter of penalizing offenders of crime.

Corrections Privatization, the Debate: Many claims have been made by observers on the advantages and disadvantages of privatization. The overriding desire of many states and local governments to rapidly increase desperately needed prison bed capacity and to reduce prison operational costs.

Corrections Privatization, the Costs: Representatives of private-sector firms assert that they can save taxpayers money by providing correctional services traditionally supplied by government at less cost. As already noted, private entrepreneurs can build facilities faster and cheaper than the government.

Corrections Privatization, the Quality of Service: In addition to the proposed cost savings and associated efficient services, one must also remember that the nation's prison and jail systems were facing widespread allegations about the lack of quality of care afforded to staff and inmates.

Texas County Progress: Responding to the strategic needs of homeland security and the tightening of purse strings at home, Polk County officials partnered with a design, build, operate and finance team to open a state-of-the-art, $15.6 million detention facility in February of this year that has virtually filled to capacity in three short months.