Renewed interest in private prisons sparks concern on King County council

King County Council member Dave Upthegrove is proposing an ordinance in the wake of Donald Trump’s election to head off any use of private prisons by the county.

“The ordinance I introduced makes it the official policy of King County to prohibit the use of private prisons by the county,” Upthegrove said.

“The reason I introduced it now, in large part, is because of changes at the federal level seem to indicate renewed interest in private prisons,” he explained. “The day after the election, for example, the stock in private prison companies went way up.”

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While Washington has used private prisons in the past, there are currently no such institutions in the state.

Private prisons

The Justice Department announced plans to move away from using private prisons, or for-profit prisons, last summer. At the federal level, it was encouraged to either not entertain private prison contracts, or to reduce the use of the for-profit companies. The Washington Post reports that stocks in private prisons tanked after this announcement, and they stayed low while many assumed that Hillary Clinton would be elected as the next president of the United States.
Those same stocks dramatically rose, however, after Trump’s election. Many contracts for private prisons involved deportation and immigration policies, which is why some may be throwing their money at the industry in the wake of Trump’s election, the Washington Post reports.

“I want to make sure that in King County we stay true to our values, which is not to profit off of incarcerating people,” Upthegrove said. “Philosophically, I don’t believe it’s appropriate for people to make money off of incarcerating human beings. I think it can also create a perverse incentive in the criminal justice system.”

Upthegrove notes such incentives have been a problem in other states.

“For practical reasons, studies have shown (private prisons) often end up being more expensive for taxpayers, and less safe for the community and staff,” he said.

Upthegrove couldn’t name any private prisons in Washington state off the top of his head. He did mention that sometimes agencies will contract with other, out-of-state agencies for prison services. Neighboring Idaho does use private prisons.

While Washington has used for-profit prisons in the past, there are currently none in use in the state. And Upthegrove notes that King County doesn’t have any contracts with any for-profit institutions. He said that over the past few years King County has engaged in alternatives to incarceration through other programs.

He still proposed the ordinance, however, to ensure that King County establishes the anti-private prison policy now, before any changes at the federal level, and no matter who the King County executive may be in the future.

“I hope other counties and states will follow suit,” Upthegrove said. “Some functions of government should be managed by the public where you have public accountability.”

The timing for Upthegrove’s ordinance will be tight as Trump takes over early in 2017. The ordinance will likely start going through the county council process in January.

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