The State Government where I live, New South Wales, is considering the privatisation of some gaols.
Now, running a private gaol is a bit like running a private hospital, or a hotel, or an airine. Profitability depends upon yield management. More occupied cells means more profit. An empty cell usually doesn't make any money.
Two private operators of juvenile detention centres in Pennsylvania found an effective way to boost their occupancy by bribing two Childrens' Court judges to send more children to detention.
In Pennsylvania, just like here in NSW, Childrens' Court proceedings usually cannot be reported in the media with any identifying details, to protect the privacy of the child.
Turns out this worked against the interests of the Children.
Some quotes from the New York Times article:
While prosecutors say that Judge Conahan, 56, secured contracts for the two centers to house juvenile offenders, Judge Ciavarella, 58, was the one who carried out the sentencing to keep the centers filled.
They shut down the county-run juvenile detention center, arguing that it was in poor condition, the authorities said, and maintained that the county had no choice but to send detained juveniles to the newly built private detention centers
For years, youth advocacy groups complained that Judge Ciavarella was unusually harsh. He sent a quarter of his juvenile defendants to detention centers from 2002 to 2006, compared with a state rate of 1 in 10. He also routinely ignored requests for leniency made by prosecutors and probation officers.
“There was a culture of intimidation surrounding this judge and no one was willing to speak up about the sentences he was handing down.”
Clay Yeager, the former director of the Office of Juvenile Justice in Pennsylvania, said typical juvenile proceedings are kept closed to the public to protect the privacy of children.
“But they are kept open to probation officers, district attorneys, and public defenders, all of whom are sworn to protect the interests of children,” he said. “It’s pretty clear those people didn’t do their jobs.”
The two companies which gave the kickbacks to the judges were PA Child Care LLC and Western PA Child Care LLC.
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