Is America Becoming a Police State?

Keino Hayle
University of North Carolina Charlotte

Abstract

As Americans we should be aware of legislation that affects our community. The reader
should find crucial information on how government polices of the 1980s have affected the
agenda of corporations. Elected officials who turn a blind eye to the majority needs, implement
polices that will only benefit their corporation. Its imperative I remind the reader my writing is
only meant to inform and shed light on how government policies affect corporate greed, creating
corporations that can legally profit off modern slavery.

Imagine a corporation with over a billion in revenue. A publicly traded company on the
New York Stock Exchange, this corporations achievements dont end with its fortune and
revenue. With global aspirations it does have the ability to expand, although due to
reorganization, its global ambitions must be placed on hold. Regardless, this organization is
praised by both the United States federal and state governments. Members of congress along
with state senators agree, as a result of this corporations existence Americans are able to
substantially pay lower taxes for a dilemma where few have had adequate solutions. Obviously
an incredibly successful company, this profitable legal business operates through government
contracts and subsidies. Providing revenue for states by purchasing unwanted land and
converting neglected buildings into sources of profit.
The industry Im referring to is the privatization of prisons, specifically the Correctional
Corporation of America (CCA) established in January 1983; one of its three founders Republican
Senator Tom Beasley hopes to solve the prison problem and make a lot of money at the same
time. The market is limitless (Wray Jr., 1986, p. 3). Its three founders Tom Beasley, Dr. Robert
Crants and T Don Hutto set out to privatize the prison industry. Not merely for profit, but to
implement cost saving design, technological innovations and business agility to government all
while promising transparency and accountability in a way similar to the correctional facilities
operated by the state and federal government (CCA Story: Our Company History, 2013). The
privatization of prisons in America is not a new issue. For decades Americans have been plagued
with inadequate facilities to hold prisoners. With the cost of detaining an inmate for the duration
of their sentence rising each year, CCA lobbies states offering to purchase their prisons as a
remedy for state budgets that are in crisis. The state benefits from a one-time infusion of cash in
exchange for management contracts along with the assurance the prison would remain 90% full

(Kirkham, 2012). Its unclear how a private corporation can guarantee its facilities will remain at
90% capacity. With a rising crime rate and funds pouring into policies that support better
policing, it was inevitable for Americas capitalistic society to transition to privatize prisons.
Incapable of funding the exponential prison growth congress became concerned with providing
adequate space for the newly incarcerated inmates without jeopardizing the security of the
average citizen, prison staff, and existing inmates.
It is surprising that in January 1984, two years before President Reagans address to the
nation on the campaign against drug abuse Correctional Corporation of American was
established. With American citizens being incarcerated at such an alarming rate its obvious the
federal government was not equipped to house the rapid increase in prison population. According
to Harley G. Lappin, Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons in the old days you would get 15
years, however you would probably serve about 3. Now in the Federal system you get 15 years,
you probably serve 13 (U.S. Government Printing Office. 2006). To put this into perspective, as
of 2003 the per capita expenditure on the administration of justice was $638.00 for every person
in the United States population. This would purchase police protection, prosecution and
adjudication of criminal offenders, and incarceration of all those found guilty (U.S. Government
Printing Office. 2006). In order to imprison and individual for 15 years the average American
would pay just under $10,000. With such a large required investment we can easily understand
why the CCA is so prosperous; profiting off the United States war on drugs as well as mandatory
sentence laws such as the 3 strikes law, or even the more controversy the 2 strike law.
With a surge in crime during the late 1970s into the early 1980s prison population nearly
tripled with an increase from 750,000 inmates in 1985 to more than 1.7 million inmates in 1997,
to over 2 million today (Austin & Coventry, 2001). This drastic increase was partly due to swift

reforms implemented to curb Americans addiction to illicit drugs. The presidency of Ronald
Regan expanded on his predecessor Richard Nixons increase in the size and ambitions of drug
control agencies. After addressing the nation on September 14, 1986 President Ronald Reagan
and his wife First Lady Nancy Reagan made clear their intentions to unify federal law
enforcement agencies as well as triple the spending for drug enforcement agencies boasting
progress in seizing illegal drugs, along with the conviction of over 10,000 drug related crimes,
and confiscation of nearly $250 million dollars in criminals assets (Reagan Foundation, 1986).
This rhetoric was due to the obvious negative connotations illicit drug use has on an individuals
body, psyche, family, employment and overall society. With the steady rise in crime it became
apparent illicit drug use was partly to blame. President Reagan reminded Americans of the
correlation between illegal drugs and crime rate through fear by advising Americans no one is
safe from the drug epidemic; not even our children can escape it grasp. The Reagans advised the
safety of all Americans are in jeopardy due to individuals who may operate motor vehicles on the
United States highway or use heavy machinery while under the influence of narcotics.
With drug use and criminal activity plaguing American culture and society, I must touch
on the connotation of Presidents Reagan war on drugs. Exactly what did this mean to the average
American? The president called the war on drugs an epidemic allocating 3 billion to the
campaign of combatting and ridding American society of illicit drugs (Reagan Foundation,
1986). A disproportionate amount of funds were made available to guarantee the apprehension of
criminals rather than to programs that may deter criminal activity. By 1989 the President had
successfully convinced the average America of the necessity in fighting the war on drugs. In
1989 64% of Americas polled cited drugs as the nations most important problem. A 42%
increase in merely 3 years (Berke R.L., 1989). This is largely due to the extensive media

coverage after Presidents Reagan speech as well as Presidents George H. W. Bush strategy on
drugs. Syndicated television reality shows like COPS are due diligence in the effort to compact
drug use. With its arrival in 1989 Americans were offered a front row seat in the pursuit to end
inner city drug use through televised raids orchestrated by the DEA. This infatuation with the
war on drugs didnt last long. In 1990 10% of Americans considered drug abuse to be Americas
most important issue (Gonzenbach W.J., 1996).
Due to the extreme increase in prison population, privatized prisons began to profit.
Today we have a better understanding of the financial results produced by privatizing prisons. A
study conducted by the Bureau of Justice discovered that rather than saving American tax payers
a projected 20% annually, the average savings from privatization is anywhere from 1% to 15%
(Urbina, 2014). Although professionals close to this issue are in disagreement, there is a small
group who believes the cost reduction in privatized prisons are due to substantial decreases in
personnel who are primarily interested in results that are pleasing to shareholders. The reduction
in prison guards are generally accepted due to new technologies allowing far more inmates to be
supervised by fewer security personnel. Privatized prisons such as Correctional Corporation of
America also includes profits from the Federal Prison Industry Program as part of their cost
saving methods. Inmates work by cleaning the facilities or preparing food for fellow inmates,
alleviating the CCA from being required to hire cooks and janitors through the private sector
resulting in higher unemployment for law abiding citizens.
Originally designed as an opportunity to rehabilitate inmates in preparation for their
release back into society, the Federal Prison Industry Program provides inmates the opportunity
to gain real work experience where many only have a criminal background (Unicor, 2014). These
skills may be used for employment upon their release from prison thereby removing them from

the cycle of being a repeat offender. After recent changes in law and policy weve seen a
dramatic decrease in the Federal Prison Industry Programs availability due to its similarities to
modern slavery. Inmates consistently complain of exploitation. Most are inconclusive, never the
less inmates complain they are forced to preform labor when ill. On occasion inmates are not
paid for their work. Instead they are provided additional free-time, or vouchers that may be used
for food, toiletries and phone calls. All at inflated prices (Urbina, 2014). When compensation is
provided in the form of cash, the typical wage is $1.00 an hour. Federal Prison Industry
Programs are volunteer based and federal employees and inmates alike praise the program as a
way to feel productive and contribute (Urbina 2014).
According to the Institute on Money in State Politics, private prison companies and their
employees have contributed a total of $1,125,598 in the 2000 election cycle alone to ensure its
policies remain effective guaranteeing each prison facilities is full to capacity (Mattera, Khan, &
Nathan, 2003, p.. 19). It appears the CCA has lobbied the United States government to be
concerned with incarcerating its citizens and allocating funds to support the apprehension of
those partaking in illegal activity. It appears our leaders are focused on ensuring its citizens are
controlled promised by creating laws to ensure prisons are full to capacity. Then encouraging
corporations to privatize prisons in order to legally profit off and individuals incarnation. If
anyone chooses to poison them self with narcotics the federal government should never consider
taking away an individuals God given freedom. Its clear illicit drugs in no shape or form
improves an individuals life or society. Never the less as adults our freedoms should not be
compromised. Especially when the past sitting three presidents have admitted to prior drug use.
When asking yourself whether or not America is becoming a police state, one must consider
whether the laws of the past were adequate in protecting communities from criminal activity or

did they destroy those same communities by creating broken homes as a result of the
incarceration its citizens for using illegal drug. The Federal Government has adopted tough
mandatory sentencing policies in some cases without parole and states have followed by
instituting repeat offender laws. Thus we have a surge in the prison population leading congress
to privatize prisons to save tax payers money allowing corporations like the CCA to profit off
Americans who blindly follow the Presidents failed agenda to combat drug use. The correlation
between the war on drugs, mandatory prison sentencing, establishing the CCA to hold additional
inmates has indeed caused America to become a prison state. Exactly who wins in this situation?
With the privatization of prison all focus should be placed on the rehabilitation of inmates rather
than their incarceration where they are used for free labor resulting in perpetual social
inadequacies within our society that we are still fighting today. The American public continues to
lose its citizens to prisons as a result of decade old laws that have been proven not work. It seems
the winner is CCA. Profiting off Americans with of over a billion dollars in revenue each year.

Keino Hayle
Dr. Meghan Rand
University Writing
04/02/2015

References

Wray, Jr., H.L. (1986) Cells for sale. Southern Changes, 8(3). Retrieved from
http://beck.library.emory.edu/southernchanges/article.php?id=sc08-3_011

Correctional Corporation of America (2013). www.cca.com Retrieved from

https://www.cca.com/our-history

Kirkham, C., (2012) Private prison corporation offers cash in exchange for state prisons.
Huffington Post. Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/14/private-prisons-buying-stateprisons_n_1272143.html

Urbina, I., (2014) Using jailed migrants as a pool of cheap labor. The New York Times. Retrieved
from
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/us/using-jailed-migrants-as-a-pool-of-cheaplabor.html?_r=0

Austin, J., Coventry G., (2001) Emerging issues on privatized prisons. U.S. Dept. of Justice.
Retrieved from
https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bja/181249.pdf

Reagan Foundation., (1986, September 14) President Reagans address to the nation on the
campaign against drug abuse. www.youtube.com. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj8gAQ_cQ7Q

U.S. Government Printing Office. (2006) Understanding the financial and human impact of
criminal activity. U.S. Senate the Cost of Crime. Retrieved from
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-109shrg42938/pdf/CHRG-109shrg42938.pdf

Mattera, P., Khan, M., and Nathan, S., (2003) Corrections Corporation of America: A critical
look at its first twenty years. Grassroots Leadership, the Corporate Research Project of Good
Jobs First and Prison Privatization Report International. Retrieved from
http://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/grassrootsleadership/cca.pdf

Berke, R.L., (1989) Poll Finds Most in U.S. Back Bush Strategy on Drugs. The New York Times.
Retrieved from

http://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/12/us/poll-finds-most-in-us-back-bush-strategy-ondrugs.html

Gonzenbach, W.J., (1996) The Media, the President, and Public Opinion Routledge. Retrieved
from
http://www.amazon.com/Media-President-Public-OpinionCommunication/dp/0805816909

Unicor (2014) Federal Prison Industries. www.unicor.com. Retrieved from

http://www.unicor.gov/about.aspx

Keino Hayle
Dr. Meghan Rand
University Writing
04/02/2015
List of keywords Is America a police state

CCA and Tom Beasley

Corrections Corporation of America
Financial impact of criminal activity
War on drugs
Ronald Reagan war on drugs
Drug related statistics
Privatized Prisons

Keino Hayle
Dr. Meghan Rand
University Writing
04/02/2015
Reflection

I cant remember the last time I wrote 5 to 6 pages. It felt uneventful. I was
so concerned over whether or not I was properly citing I feel as though I was unable
to find myself in the writing until the conclusion. I always knew the negativity
involved in the Correctional Corporation of America and privatizing prisons. I had no
idea of their involvement in lobbying congress to ensure their facilities remain full to
capacity and how this relates to our leaders adopting mandatory sentencing.
Although its merely speculation its hard not to connect the dots. Especially when
American prisons are filled with an ethic population. I didnt want my assignment to
sound racist or prejudice but its difficult when there are consistent injustices that
continues to plague all ethnicities. I wanted to present both sides of the argument. If
anything try to convince the reader that privatizing prisons is a good thing. Then
surprise the reader in the end by expressing my true feelings. As you know this
project originally started with what is the love. What was I thinking? I was able to
produce a page, but I found I wasnt capable of adding to the meaning of love. It
was extremely important to take a look at what has transpired in the 1980s in order
to truly identify whether or not America is becoming a police state. Without a
historical view I wouldnt have an argument. The most important aspect of my
argument is the timeline I tried to create. Beginning with Reagans war on drugs
leading to overcrowded prisons inviting CCA and others to privatize prisons to profit
off Americans. Polling Americans proved this war was adopted by politicians whom
have yet to provide an honest answer as to why a war on drugs is more important
than a war on hunger or poverty. My analytical skills have drastically improved. I
feel comfortable enough to write a thesis although Im not looking forward to that
requirement when earning my masters degree. Im proud I was able to finish this
assignment on time. Although like normal Im not satisfied with my work, I am
satisfied with what Ive learned. Dont trust American politicians. They always have
another agenda.