The nation’s largest private-prison company said Tuesday it has helped the state avoid $646 million in construction costs over the past decade.
Executives from Corrections Corporation of America, which houses about 20 percent of all inmates sent to prison in Colorado, added that they pay $40 million per year to 900 employees in the state.
The company disclosed the financial data during a special hearing by state lawmakers into the costs and benefits of relying on privately owned prisons.
While the company touted its economic impact, opponents of private prisons talked about the human cost.
Tracy Masuga, whose son was moved from a Colorado-based prison to a CCA facility in Oklahoma in December, said she can no longer visit her son every other week, as she has for the past six years.
“We won’t be able to see him very often,” said Masuga, who choked back tears as she began her testimony, noting that it now costs at least $300 per trip to see her son.
As a result of overcrowding in Colorado, hundreds of prisoners are being transferred to facilities in Oklahoma.
Masuga said she found out that her son had been moved on the day he was sent to Oklahoma.
Ryan Sherman, president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, said private prison operators cut corners to increase profits for their shareholders. He said such practices endanger workers and could result in higher rates of repeat offenses by released inmates.
“There’s nothing but problems if you are putting profits first,” Sherman said.
Rep. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, said private-prison operators pay lower salaries than state-run prisons, partly because the companies base their salaries on incomes in depressed rural areas.
“It seems like that’s contributing to the pay disparity,” Carroll said.
Josh Brown, senior director of customer relations for CCA, said his company’s starting pay for a correctional officer in Colorado is $24,000 to $26,000 per year.
The state Department of Corrections pays $32,000 annually.
Brown said his company turns over 30 percent to 40 percent of its Colorado workforce a year.
Staff writer Mark P. Couch can be reached at 303-954-1794 or mcouch@denverpost.com.
