The Department of Public Safety confirmed this week what SEANC has said all along – privatization of prison maintenance is a losing proposition for the state and for taxpayers.

That was the finding of a report issued Monday by the Department of Public Safety to Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and Speaker of the House Thom Tillis (R-Mecklenburg).

The report stemmed from a contentious debate over a bill to privatize all prison maintenance operations in North Carolina, House Bill 335, in the 2011 General  Assembly.

SEANC members turned out in droves to lobby legislators not to make this costly mistake, while SEANC’s lobbyists worked to defeat it behind the scenes. In the end, the bill’s language was replaced to restrict the department from privatizing any additional prisons while requesting a study of the issue, which resulted in Monday’s report. Click here to read the entire report.

“Based on the analysis contained in this report, the department has concluded that there are no significant savings to be realized through the privatization of prison maintenance operations,” the report’s conclusion states.

State employees provide a more efficient operation and allow the department to maintain a higher level of internal security, among many other advantages, according to the report. Further, it states that in studying privatized operations already in place at three state prisons, “there is no conclusive evidence that privatized maintenance produces significant savings benefits over in-house, departmental maintenance operations.”

SEANC commends David Guice, commissioner of the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice, and Joe Prater, Juvenile Justice Deputy Commissioner, for the thorough and detailed study of this critical operation, and for recognizing the dedicated, professional state employees who provide these vital services to help keep North Carolinians safe.

SEANC members have long pointed to the risks and dangers of privatizing our prisons.

Wayne Talbert, who retired in 2012 as the Assistant Superintendent of Custody and Operations of Dan River Correctional Institution, said the findings were common sense for the people in his department.

“We’ve always known we can do a much better job than some private company can,” Talbert said. “Hopefully legislators will take this report to heart and realize that privatization is costly and dangerous in our prisons. For a private contractor, it’s just a job. But as a state employee, we serve the people of North Carolina and help keep our neighborhoods safe.”

SEANC’s lobbyists will continue to monitor any efforts to privatize any part of state government as the 2014 General Assembly session continues and are ready to enlighten legislators on the perils of turning over taxpayer dollars to private companies.