An Ohio state audit of the private prison sold by Gov. John Kasich last year found the prison is meeting only 66.7 percent of the state's standards, reports Cincinnati CityBeat. The report found a total of 47 violations in a northeastern Ohio prison owned by Corrections Corporation of America. The state government sold the prison to CCA last year as part of a privatization push set out in Ohio's 2012-13 budget. The violations noted in the Ohio Department of Correction and Rehabilitation audit range from staff training problems to poor food quality.
“It was apparent throughout certain departments that DRC policy and procedure is not being followed,” the audit said. “Staff was interviewed and some stated they are not sure what to do because of the confusion between CCA policy and DRC policy. Some staff expressed safety concerns due to low staffing numbers and not having enough coverage. Other staff stated that there is increased confusion due to all the staffing transitions.” The findings shine some light into why ODRC Director Gary Mohr might have decided to stop privatizing Ohio's prisons — at least for now. On Sept. 25 — the same day the audit was mailed to Mohr's office — Mohr announced his department would focus on sentencing reforms to bring down recidivism instead of privatizing more prisons to save costs.