A watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, is calling for “increased transparency” in the booming private prison business, McClatchy Newspapers report. The group asserts that “highly profitable private prison companies…have quite a deal; they rake in taxpayer dollars without suffering taxpayer scrutiny.”
The two largest private prison contractors, CCA and GEO, are said to have had combined revenue of $2.9 billion in 2010. Of the 1.57 million prisoners held in state and federal prisons as of December 31, 2012, 137,220 were housed at private correctional institutions. Because they are not government entities, they are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. The new report delves into lobbying activities and the like, and makes recommendations.