State to spend $21M to house 1,000 private-prison inmates in Eloy

• Private prison in Eloy is expanding to house up to 1,000 more state inmates
• Correction official says more beds are needed to ease overcrowding, management issues
• CCA says it's spending $40 million on new facilities for the additional inmates

ELOY – The first group of 25 state inmates will move into the Red Rock Correctional Center Tuesday as Arizona expands its reliance on private prisons to ease overcrowding in the state penal system.

The state Department of Corrections by January plans to transfer up to 1,000 medium-custody inmates to southern Pinal County, where Corrections Corporation of America said it is spending $40 million at Red Rock to build a new dormitory, renovate cells and expand recreation areas to handle the new inmates. The facility, which once housed inmates from other states, began accepting Arizona inmates in January 2014. It already houses nearly 1,000 state inmates.

The state last year granted CCA a 20-year contract to house the inmates. The Tennessee-based company was the only bidder. The company will receive $66.35 a day per inmate, and the state will guarantee a 90 percent occupancy.

The deal is projected to pay CCA at least $21 million a year. It's the second time in 2½ years that Arizona has turned to CCA. The contract is projected to create 122 new jobs, more than half being for correctional officers. The starting salary for a Red Rock guard is $34,320, slightly more than entry-level pay for state correctional officers. The average pay at Red Rock is about $36,000.

Ron Credio, contract bed administrator for DOC, said the new CCA beds will ease tensions in other crowded prisons across Arizona. He said the state needs more medium-security beds because of a slight increase in the number of people being sentenced, and because some inmates in maximum and close-custody state prisons have improved their behavior sufficiently to be reclassified to medium-security sites such as Red Rock, which have more privileges.

RELATED: A year after riots: Changes afoot to make Kingman prison safer |
State might refinance Kingman private prison, give staff more pay

'We treat them with dignity and respect'

Red Rock Warden Bruno M. Stolc said one of his prison's best programs is the horticulture center, where inmates grow vegetables and raise cactuses and plants. Inmates are eligible to earn master-gardener certificates and learn skills that can be used once they are released from custody, he said.

During a recent tour, Stolc also showcased the prison's educational center, where inmates were studying on computers to earn a General Education Development diploma. Stolc said 24 inmates have obtained a GED so far this year, with 52 currently enrolled. The center also houses a chapel and a substance-abuse program that gives priority to inmates who are close to completing their sentences.

Along the red-painted walls are names of inmates who have completed various courses. Passage of each results in a gold star painted by the inmate's name.

"I feel we have a pretty good program here with our inmates," Stolc said. "We treat them with dignity and respect."

State wants more prison beds; critic says it can't afford them

Stolc said more than 90 percent of the inmates are involved in an educational or work program. Jobs include working in the kitchen, doing laundry, or keeping the grounds. Inmates at the facility last year also raised $27,000 through a fundraiser for Special Olympics.

To house the additional 1,000 state inmates, Stolc said CCA renovated hundreds of two-person cells with new lockers, ladders and electrical outlets. The company also is building a 400-bed dormitory, with 50 beds in each triangular shaped unit. At the apex is a guard-monitored control tower. The 75,000-square-foot dormitory, which is less expensive to build than cells, is expected to be done in October.

New inmates will be housed in the cells until the dorm is completed.

Stolc said the dormitory was divided into eight pie-shaped units that are separated by cinder block to maintain better security and control of the inmates.

Though there already is a recreation area with basketball hoops, CCA also is building a new volleyball court and baseball field for inmates.

Private prisons on the rise in Arizona

As the state inmate population grows, Republicans controlling the Legislature have relied on private-prison companies like CCA to house prisoners. 

Some lawmakers have argued that private companies can house inmates at a lower cost to taxpayers than the state, though there are no independent studies to corroborate that. Opponents of private-prison expansion have argued that lawmakers could save money by having fewer private prisons and spending additional tax dollars on substance-abuse programs or by reforming Arizona's strict sentencing guidelines.

This fiscal year's state general fund budget calls for more than $1 billion to be allocated to DOC, with $168.6 million provided to three private-prison companies that house about 17 percent of Arizona's 42,859 inmates.

Public hearing Tuesday on plan to add 2,000 private-prison beds

CCA, which has had a presence in Arizona since 1994, currently houses 929 state inmates at Red Rock. For those inmates, CCA receives a $65.43 per day per inmate. That's slightly less than the new contract for inmates preparing to transfer in.

The company has six facilities in Eloy and Florence. They house prisoners for the federal government and the states of Hawaii and California, as well as for Arizona. Those CCA facilities hold a total of more than 12,000 inmates, with the overwhelming majority being medium-custody male inmates.

CCA touts itself as the fifth-largest corrections system in the country, behind only the federal government and three states.

CCA, for all of its operations, reported a $221 million profit on $1.7 billion in revenue in 2015. It's chief executive received $3.4 million last year in total compensation, while four other executives received more than $1 million each.