New year, new law: For-profit prison ban leads California on new path of prison reform

As 2019 comes to a close, so will the for-profit prison system currently used by California.

Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 32, which bans the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from leasing private, for-profit prisons, which includes federal detention facilities. This system consists of contracts between the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and a private company to run a state prison.

Starting January 1st of the following year, the department will not be allowed to renew or create any lease with a private, for-profit facility. Part of the new law requires California to phase out all for-profit prisons by January 1st of 2028. According to the Los Angeles Times, 1,700 CA prisoners are in private facilities, out of the 114,800 total.

“These for-profit prisons do not reflect our values,” claimed Newsom. In his inaugural address, he stated a goal to end the “outrage that is private prisons in the state of California once and for all.”

Proposed by Assembly member Rob Bonta of Oakland, AB 32 was originally announced as a ban on private prisons, but was amended to include immigration detention facilities.

“We’ve all seen the current humanitarian crisis play out along the southern border,” asserted Bonta. “No human being deserves to be held in the horrific conditions we’ve been seeing in these for-profit, private facilities. It’s clearly not enough to focus our legislation on prisons alone.”

Above shows one of the private facilities, Central Valley Modified Community Correctional Facility, which closed from their ended contract with the California Department of Corrections on September 25.

According to TIME Magazine, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acting press secretary Bryan Cox claimed the ban would hurt California residents that would “theoretically have to travel greater distances to visit friends and family in custody.”

In 2006, California became increasingly dependent on the private prison system, as overcrowding in state prisons required the use of the private system. Over time, the state became less dependent, due to decreased amount of prisoners from policy changes. Reuters noted that three private prisons in California are set to close in 2023. They also stated that ICE is set to lose four private detention facilities.

“By ending the use of for-profit, private prisons and detention facilities,” mentioned Bonta, “we are sending a powerful message that we vehemently oppose the practice of profiteering off the backs of Californians in custody.”