Mesa’s private jail deal makes us all losers
Mesa has rolled the dice with CoreCivic, and that bet could unravel a wave of jail privatization across Arizona as local politicians rush to hand over millions of taxpayers’ dollars to private scavengers. No one disputes Mesa’s right and obligation to rein in the cost of jailing its lowlevel offenders, but handing them over to a private company whose only mission is to make a buck is unconscionable.
Oh, never mind. This has nothing to do with conscience and government’s core responsibility to its citizens. It’s just about money, and money has no conscience, right?
Mesa’s three-year, $15 million contract with CoreCivic to transport and house misdemeanor offenders in a separate section of its Florence facility is the first Arizona windfall of a national government liking to lock up as many people in private facilities.
Since money has no conscience, the contract is largely about opt-outs to protect the city’s investment in a private company whose management of its facilities has gotten national attention.
I’m still scratching my head over the Mesa City Council’s rush to sign up with CoreCivic, which activists across the nation have been sounding the alarm over inmate mistreatment and lax security. It’s no coincidence that the company formerly called Corrections Corporation of America rebranded itself as CoreCivic.
Oh, never mind. I keep forgetting this is just about money.
Mesa officials argue the city could potentially save up to $2 million annually, saying the cost to house these types of offenders at Maricopa County facilities is getting out of control.
No one disputes the increasing cost. Valley police agencies now transport misdemeanor offenders to Maricopa County’s Fourth Avenue Jail in Phoenix. They pay booking and daily fees to the county to house them.
In 2015, Mesa paid Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office nearly $10 million for about 4,700 bookings, according to a county misdemeanor bookings report.
Clearly, Mesa is just looking after itself. Why wouldn’t the city give the new sheriff time to work with it and other cities on lowering costs? For goodness sake, Sheriff Paul Penzone has been on the job only four months.
Mesa officials either don’t care that other cities may have to have to pick up the tab until Penzone figures out what to do, or they are deliberately paving the way for other cities to sign up with CoreCivic as well. But never mind. This isn’t about Mesa being a good neighbor. This isn’t about government responsibility to rehabilitate inmates or deal itself with its citizens when they are their lowest point.
This is just about money, and money has no conscience, right? If money is the only premise, then Mesa is the biggest winner and the rest of us are a bunch of losers.
Elvia Díaz is an editorial columnist for The Republic and azcentral. Email her at elvia.diaz@arizonarepublic.com.