Correctional Services Corporation (CSC), originally Esmor Correctional Corporation, was a correctional firm founded by James F. Slattery in 1987. It was located in Sarasota, Florida, US, and traded on the NASDAQ (NASDAQ NMS:CSCQ). It had been a corporation specializing in the privatization of correctional facilities for federal, state, and local agencies housing adults, juveniles, and Department Of Homeland Security prisoners.
Much of the CSC's profits were allegedly based on high crime rates, as hinted in a 2002 statement by James F. Slattery: "Increases in parole rates combined with economic slowdowns traditionally lead to an increased need for correctional services," he said. "We believe this historical pattern will be repeated, and its effect felt in 2002 and beyond." [1]
The New York State Lobbying Commission fined Correctional Services Corp. $300,000 for purchasing votes in the state legislature. [2]
In 2005, CSC was sold to GEO Group for $62.1 million. [3] GEO then divested the youth portion of the enterprise, Youth Services International (YSI), back to its principals. According to a 2013 HuffPost investigation, inmates held in facilities run by YSI "have frequently faced beatings, neglect, sexual abuse and unsanitary food over the past two decades." [4]
Due to audits findings of overcharges and reports of continuing abuse, the State of Florida cancelled its existing contracts with YSI, the remaining functional operation of CSC. The corporation was required to reimburse the state for $2,000,000 in overcharges. [5] [6]
Tampa is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the county seat of Hillsborough County. With an estimated population of 403,364 in 2023, Tampa is the 49th-most populous city in the country and the third-most populous city in Florida after Jacksonville and Miami.
Sarasota is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Greater Tampa Bay Area, and north of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Its official limits include Sarasota Bay and several barrier islands between the bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Sarasota is a principal city of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2020 U.S. census, Sarasota had a population of 54,842, up from 51,917 at the 2010 census.
The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) is a state agency of Mississippi that operates prisons. It has its headquarters in Jackson. As of 2020 Burl Cain is the commissioner.
The Tampa Bay area is a major metropolitan area surrounding Tampa Bay on the Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States. It includes the main cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. It is the 17th-largest metropolitan area in the United States, with a population of 3,175,275 as of the 2020 U.S. Census.
Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) was an American multinational corporation that provided information technology (IT) services and professional services. On April 3, 2017, it merged with the Enterprise Services line of business of HP Enterprise to create DXC Technology.
Prison rape commonly refers to the rape of inmates in prison by other inmates or prison staff. In 2001, Human Rights Watch estimated that at least 4.3 million inmates had been raped while incarcerated in the United States. A United States Department of Justice report, Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by Inmates, states that "In 2011–12, an estimated 4.0% of state and federal prison inmates and 3.2% of jail inmates reported experiencing one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another inmate or facility staff in the past 12 months or since admission to the facility, if less than 12 months." However, advocates dispute the accuracy of the numbers, saying they seem to under-report the real numbers of sexual assaults in prison, especially among juveniles.
The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is home to 14 colleges, offering more than 240 undergraduate, graduate, specialist, and doctoral-level degree programs. USF is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. USF is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU) and is designated by the Florida Board of Governors as one of three Preeminent State Research Universities.
Cornell Companies (NYSE:CRN) was an American corporation that operated correctional facilities, contracting them to state and local governments. The company's headquarters were located in Houston, Texas. On August 12, 2010, Cornell was acquired by the GEO Group.
Adelaide "Alex" Sink is an American former politician and financier. A member of the Democratic Party, Sink was the Chief Financial Officer for the state of Florida and treasurer on the board of trustees of the Florida State Board of Administration. She was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Florida and faced Republican nominee Rick Scott in the 2010 Florida gubernatorial election, losing to Scott by a 1% margin. Sink also ran as the Democratic nominee in the 2014 special election for Florida's 13th congressional district, losing to Republican David Jolly on March 11, 2014.
The GEO Group, Inc. (GEO) is a publicly traded C corporation that invests in private prisons and mental health facilities in the United States, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, the company's facilities include illegal immigration detention centers, minimum security detention centers, and mental-health and residential-treatment facilities. It also operates government-owned facilities pursuant to management contracts. As of December 31, 2021, the company managed and/or owned 86,000 beds at 106 facilities. In 2019, agencies of the federal government of the United States generated 53% of the company's revenues. Up until 2021 the company was designated as a real estate investment trust, at which time the board of directors elected to reclassify as a C corporation under the stated goal of reducing the company's debt.
The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (FDJJ) is a state agency of Florida that operates juvenile detention centers. Its headquarters are in the Knight Building in Tallahassee.
The Walnut Grove Correctional Facility, formerly the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility (WGYCF), is a state prison in Walnut Grove, Mississippi. It was formerly operated as a for-profit state-owned prison from 1996 to 2016. Constructed beginning in 1990, it was expanded in 2001 and later, holding male youth offenders. It had an eventual capacity of 1,649 prisoners, making it the largest juvenile facility in the country. Contracts for the facility's operations and services were among those investigated by the FBI in its lengthy investigation of state corruption known as Operation Mississippi Hustle.
Punishment in Australia arises when an individual has been accused or convicted of breaking the law through the Australian criminal justice system. Australia uses prisons, as well as community corrections. When awaiting trial, prisoners may be kept in specialised remand centres or within other prisons.
The 2014 Florida gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Florida.
David Richardson is an American politician who served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives for the 113th district from 2012 to 2018. Richardson was elected as a Miami Beach commissioner in November 2019.
Juvenile detention in the Northern Territory is administered by Territory Families, since a departmental reorganisation following the Labor victory at the August 2016 Northern Territory general election. Juvenile detention is mostly operated through two facilities - the Alice Springs Juvenile Holding Centre in Alice Springs, and the Don Dale Juvenile Detention Centre in eastern Darwin. These had previously been administered by the Department of Correctional Services. A juvenile is a child between the age of 10 and 17.
The South Bay Correctional Facility is a private state prison for men located in South Bay, Palm Beach County, Florida, which is operated by GEO Group under contract with the Florida Department of Corrections. This facility was opened in 1997 and has a maximum capacity of 1948 prisoners.
Anthony Cormier is an American journalist with BuzzFeed News, and formerly with the Tampa Bay Times and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Cormier was a co-recipient of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting.
Sequel Youth and Family Services is a private for-profit operator of behavioral healthcare facilities for children and youth in the United States. The company is headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama and owns a nationwide network of over 40 facilities in more than 15 states, including residential treatment centers, group homes, special schools, and community-based programs.