State employees’ group: No more private prisons in Tennessee

The association representing state employees wants Tennessee to stop using private prisons, a call that comes after the U.S. Department of Justice announced last week it would end its contracts with private prison operators.

The Tennessee State Employee Association, which represents correctional officers in addition to other state employees, has blasted prison leadership for months over working conditions and how officers are paid. But calling on the Tennessee Department of Correction to end the use of private prisons is a new step from TSEA President Bryan Merritt. 

“Last week’s Department of Justice decision to reduce, and ultimately end, its use of private prisons should have Tennessee considering taking similar action,” Merritt said in a news release. “Commissioner Tony Parker and all the employees at the Tennessee Department of Correction do a great job on a daily basis, and there is simply no good reason to continue paying a private prison company that provides an inferior product, lower levels of safety and security, and debatable cost savings for the public.”

The Department of Justice made the decision to stop future use of private prisons after an audit of some federally run private prisons found an array of safety and security issues. The DOJ also determined there was no substantial cost savings from using private prisons.

Nashville-based private prison operator Corrections Corporation of America has 85 facilities in the country, including its national headquarters and eight other locations in Tennessee. Four state prisons, along with jails in Nashville and Chattanooga, are run by CCA.

Last week, Parker said in a statement that Tennessee is satisfied with the services provided by CCA and has no plans to end its contracts with the company. A spokeswoman for Gov. Bill Haslam referred comment to the Department of Correction.

"The CCA managed facilities are held to the same high-standards as all of the TDOC managed facilities," Parker said in the statement.

TN prisons to pay officers $1,000 'retention bonus'

Although there are four CCA-run prisons in Tennessee, state law technically only allows for one private prison. However, Tennessee uses counties as a pass-through in order to skirt this law. CCA has a five-year, $276 million contract with Trousdale County to operate the Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility, the newest prison in the state and set to become the largest. In turn, the state pays Trousdale County all the money it needs to fulfill the terms of its contract with CCA.

This is a problem, Merritt said in his statement.

“Thirty years ago, the members of our legislature had the foresight to statutorily limit state contracts with private prison companies to only one; nonetheless, private prison conglomerate CCA has figured out how to get around state law by contracting with local counties to operate more than one private prison in Tennessee,” Merritt said. “We think they are misreading the law, but we’d love to know what our attorney general thinks of CCA’s interpretation of the statute.”

In a statement last week, CCA disputed the findings of the federal report that outlined safety and security issues. Spokesman Jonathan Burns said the company appreciates its existing clients and will continue to work with them.

As of 10 a.m. Monday, CCA stock had risen to $19.64. Before the DOJ announcement, the stock price had hovered around $27.

Reach Dave Boucher at 615-259-8892 and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.