Number of prisoners in private prisons in the U.S. 2021, by state

Private prisons, also referred to as for-profit prisons, have become a dominant sector of society in the United States and are now implemented in many states around the country. As of 2021, the state of Florida had the highest number of prisoners held in private prisons in the United States, with a total of 11,712 prisoners, followed by Texas, Tennessee, Arizona, and Georgia. 17 states did not have any prisoners held in private prisoners in that year.

Private prisons in the U.S.

The United States is home to the highest prison population per capita of all OECD countries, resulting in a consistent overcrowding of prisons which has negatively affected the criminal justice system for decades. The privatization of prison facilities was initially proposed as a solution to a lack of funding and an increasing demand for more jail space, leading to around ten percent of the U.S. prison population currently behind bars in private prisons. In 2019, 86,163 prisoners were held in in-state private prison facilities in the United States, compared to 29,791 prisoners held in out-of-state private prisons.

Arguments on private prisons

Advocates of private prisons proposed that privatization could lead to cost reductions, suggesting that allowing the private industry to operate prison facilities would save taxpayers money. However, the increasing reliance on private prison facilities has been criticized politically in the U.S. for catering to profit-seeking corporations as well as for the tendency to hold people in immigrant detention in these privately run facilities. In 2021, the highest share of revenue reported by the two largest for-profit prison companies in the U.S. was from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In addition, Republican Senator Marco Rubio from Florida, who is well-known for his positive stance on strengthening border security, was also found to receive the most money from the private prison industry than any other federal politician in the 2022 election cycle.