State awards contracts for new private prisons
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/ ... 8-11-04Jun 27, 6:11 PM EDT
State awards contracts for new private prisons
By JON SARCHE
Associated Press Writer
DENVER (AP) -- Faced with the likelihood that Colorado's inmate population could outstrip prison capacity by the end of the year, state officials have awarded contracts to three companies to build two private lockups and expand two others for an additional 3,776 beds.
State officials on Monday awarded a contract to Houston-based Cornell Companies Inc. to build a prison in Hudson, a town of 1,600 about 30 miles northeast of Denver, to house up to 832 women.
On Tuesday, Boca Raton, Fla.-based The Geo Group Inc. won a contract to build a prison in Ault, about 10 miles north of Greeley, to house up to 1,504 male inmates; and Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation of America won a contract to expand its existing male-inmate prisons in Bent and Kit Carson counties by 720 beds each.
As of July 1, the state's rate for private-prison contracts will be $51.91 per day per inmate. Both of the new prisons and both expansion projects are expected to be open by early to mid 2008, according to the state Department of Personnel and Administration's purchasing office.
Corrections Department spokeswoman Katherine Sanguinetti said the state's prison population is increasing by an average of 100 inmates per month, and it is projected to exceed capacity by the end of the year.
"We are almost out of state beds and we are desperately in need of places to put these inmates to keep them safe and secure and house them in a humane way," she said. "The private prisons allow us to do that without incurring construction costs to the state."
The first private prison in Colorado opened in 1994.
According to Corrections Department statistics, there were six private prisons in Colorado housing a total of 4,145 people as of May 31. Of those, 250 were women housed at the Brush Correctional Facility about 80 miles northeast of Denver. Total capacity for those six prisons was 4,846.
The Department of Corrections operates 25 prisons, with a capacity of 14,169 inmates. As of May 31, they housed 13,992 people.
Overall, the state's prison population was 21,834 on May 31, including 19,639 men and 2,195 women. The figure includes people in the community corrections system and state inmates in state-contracted space in county jails.
By December, Colorado's prison population is expected to grow to somewhere between 22,221 and 22,624, according to projections from the Division of Criminal Justice and the Legislative Council, respectively.
In December 2007, projections range from 23,376 to 23,927. The projections for June 2010 range from 26,218 to 27,592.
Hudson Mayor Neal Pontius said Cornell's proposal to build the prison on a site about 2 miles from the town center will have to go through public hearings. He said the few residents he has heard from on the possibility surprised him by supporting it.
"They're excited about the jobs and the chance that there'll be an increase in the tax base," he said. "The town needs to get some kind of growth going in order to survive."
Ault Police Chief Tracey McCoy said residents there also are looking forward to an economic boost.
"I think people are ready for something to spur things on here," he said. "The town's been kind of dying on the vine for a while here without any new industry or any new jobs for some time, so I think most people see this as an oppty for the town to progress a little bit."
Cornell runs 82 correctional facilities in 18 states. In Colorado, it runs the Southern Peaks treatment Center in Canon City for up to 160 youths.
The Geo Group operates 59 prisons in the 16 states, Cuba, Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada. In Colorado, it operates a U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement facility in Aurora and is developing a Pueblo facility for people about to be paroled and for those whose parole has been revoked.
Corrections Corporation of America operates 63 prisons in 19 states and the District of Columbia. In Colorado, it operates the Bent County Correctional Facility, the Kit Carson Correctional Center, the Crowley County Correctional Facility and the Huerfano County Correctional Facility.
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On the Net:
Corrections Department: http://www.doc.state.co.us
Cornell Companies: http://www.cornellcompanies.com
The Geo Group: http://www.thegeogroupinc.com
Corrections Corporation of America: http://www.correctionscorp.com
