Private matters: Multinational corporations and the global prison industry

Private matters: Multinational corporations and the global prison industry
Private matters: Multinational corporations and the global prison industry

Private matters: Multinational corporations and the global prison industry

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The 1980s marked a climactic decade of mass incarceration and prison privatization in the U.S. Since then, prison privatization outside of the U.S. has expanded to places like the United Kingdom, Australia, France, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, Uruguay and Mexico. Multinational corporations such as The Geo Group, Serco, Inc., Sodexo and G4S now handle prison transport, healthcare services, food, court services and a host of other services linked to mass incarceration and immigrant detainee systems. British private security firm G4S, for example, operates juvenile detention facilities and military checkpoints on the Gaza Strip and US-Mexico border control. Bob Libal, executive director of Grassroots Leadership, and Stephen Nathan, independent researcher and expert on the private corrections industry, fill us in on the private prison industry. (Photo: AP Images).