Why not incarcerate less people in Arizona? Especially those with non-violent sentences. Imposing less long sentences would help cut the budget too. Oh wait, Governor Brewer is linked to private prisons company CCA...
Opponent Says Hundreds Of State Workers Could Lose Jobs
Sarah Buduson, Reporter, KPHO.com
UPDATED: November 30, 2010
PHOENIX -- A state commission studying privatization will likely recommend privatizing Arizona's parks and prisons as a way to help ease the state's budget deficit when it releases its full report in December.
"This is one way to economize in a way that will cause the least amount of pain to the public," said Glenn Hamer, a member of Arizona's Commission on Privatization and Efficiency.
Gov. Jan Brewer created the commission to help Arizona save money.
The state is currently facing a more than $1 billion budget deficit.
"This is 101 for good government to look for ways that you can save taxpayer dollars," said Hamer, who is also the president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Hamer said most of the commission's recommendations will be kept secret until the report is released, but he expects the report to recommend privatizing Arizona's state parks and privatizing more state prisons.
"Privatizing prisons is a still good deal for this state," said Hamer.
The issue of privatizing prisons is controversial in Arizona.
Three inmates, including two convicted murderers, escaped from a private prison in Kingman in July.
The convicts went on a crime spree, and they are now charged in the slaying of an Oklahoma couple in New Mexico before they were caught.
The prison came under fire for its lax security procedures.
CBS 5 News then exposed connections between Brewer's top advisers and CCA, a private prison company.
Read the rest here.