Last week Sheriff Chris Prine volunteered his opinion of private prisons:

You were talking about the private jail system.
I’d like to voice my opinion of that.
The private jail from our study so far, the cost….
I’m going to use a figure of around 800 inmates;
we’re pretty close to 900 in our jail now.
We figure around maybe $36 a day to feed the inmate,
counting of course the food and our employment.

And looking at the private jail sector.
And of course I’m responsible for the inmate whether he is in a private
jail or in my jail.
If I’m going to be responsible for that inmate, I want him here;
I want him in my jail, not a private jail.

[applause]

Another thing is the cost factor.

Like I said, we’re figuring around $36 per day.
In the private sector they’re figuring around $64 a day….

We tried the private probation office.
If somebody in the private probation office,
if we have an inmate or a violation of probation,
it doesn’t take but two or three dollars for them
to violate the probation and put them back in jail.
Where we can approach the state a little bit better.

I just wanted to address that, and I appreciate your time.

Here’s

the video:

“I want him in my jail, not a private jail.” —Sheriff Chris Prine

Sheriff Chris Prine,

Monthly Meeting, Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP),

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 6 February 2012.

Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq