Bureau of Prisons Renews CoreCivic Contract at Georgia Prison

MCRAE, Ga. — Despite an August memo from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) instructing the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to begin phasing out contracts with private prison operators, CoreCivic of Nashville, Tenn., formerly the Corrections Corporation of America, announced Nov. 15 that the BOP exercised a two-year renewal option at the 1,978-bed, company-owned McRae Correctional Facility in McRae. The amended contract will go into effect Dec. 1, and will provide for housing up to 1,724 federal inmates with a fixed monthly payment for 1,633 beds, compared to the previous contract which contained a fixed payment for 1,780 beds, according to a statement by the company.

Damon T. Hininger, CoreCivic’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement that the firm appreciates the BOP’s continued trust and partnership. “I am proud of the high-quality service provided by hundreds of CoreCivic’s corrections professionals at [McRae Correctional Facility], and we look forward to continuing to provide the BOP with flexible, cost-effective capacity solutions to address their needs as they evolve,” he added.

The McRae Correctional Facility recently achieved an audit score of 100 percent in its most recent American Correctional Association accreditation process, according to a statement by CoreCivic. Year to date, nearly 300 offenders have earned industry-recognized certifications for academic achievements. Those include GED and International Affairs for the National Institute of Adult Education (INEA) certificates, and carpentry and electrical certificates for proficiency in vocational trades.

The August DOJ memo urging the BOP to move away from privately operated prisons cited, among other issues, both inmate safety and the nation’s overall decline in inmate population. In a statement, Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates noted that the U.S. now has approximately 195,000 inmates in bureau or private contract facilities, down from a high of approximately 220,000 in 2013.

“This decline in the prison population means that we can better allocate our resources to ensure that inmates are in the safest facilities and receiving the best rehabilitative services — services that increase their chances of becoming contributing members of their communities when they return from prison,” Yates said in a statement.

CoreCivic first announced its new name in October, and will now encompass three distinct business offerings: CoreCivic Safety, focusing on high quality corrections and detention management; CoreCivic Properties, which will offer a range of government real estate solutions; and, CoreCivic Community, a network of residential re-entry centers which aim to help tackle the nation’s recidivism crisis, according to a statement by the firm.

“Rebranding as CoreCivic is the culmination of a multiyear strategy to transform our business from largely corrections and detention services to a wider range of government solutions,” Hininger said in a statement. “The CoreCivic name speaks to our ability to solve the tough challenges facing government at all levels and to the deep sense of service that we feel every day to help people.”