New Hampshire’s state prison population is growing. The reasons are uncertain and multi-faceted (a shortage of mental health and addiction services? Desperation from joblessness and underemployment?), but unless the trend changes dramatically, it’s clear that the state must prepare for a continued influx of inmates in years to come.

“At the moment we are seeing our population increase,” said Jeffrey Lyons, public information officer at the N.H. Department of Corrections. “We’re at a point where we can still operate, we still have available bed space. But, as the population continues to rise, as appears to be the trend, we could be in a situation where we have to look at other options for housing our inmate population.”

One option under consideration is contracting a private company to build and/or operate state prisons. The state has received bids from four different corporations, and recently hired a consultant to help with the review process.

On July 11, the Executive Council approved spending $171,347 to hire a Florida company, MGT of America, to work with the state as it reviews numerous proposals to build or operate men’s or hybrid prisons.

The consultant will work with the Department of Corrections and the Department of Administrative Services to review the proposals and determine whether privatization would save money and meet the state’s needs.

“Because of the complexity of some of what’s being proposed, we realized we needed some additional financial expertise,” said Linda Hodgdon, commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services.

New Hampshire currently operates three state prison facilities: the State Prison for Men in Concord, the State Prison for Women in Goffstown, and the Northern NH Correctional Facility in Berlin (a facility in the Lakes Region closed in 2009). According to Lyons, the combined prison population is currently more than 2,500 inmates, an increase of about 100 from last year.

The population briefly dropped when the legislature enacted the Justice Reinvestment Initiative in 2010, allowing certain prisoners to be released early on parole in some circumstances. But that policy was revised and made more restrictive last year, causing populations to rise again, Lyons said. 

It costs about $33,000 to keep a typical inmate behind bars for a year—sometimes much more, depending on the inmate’s health needs and other factors. And, since the Corrections budget was slashed by $4 million to about $102 million in the current fiscal year, the state is in search of potential cost-saving measures.

Privatization is one such measure. The state Legislature and Gov. John Lynch instructed the Department of Corrections to send out a request for proposals earlier this year. Four companies submitted bids— The GEO Group, Management & Training Corp., Corrections Corp. of America, and NH Hunt Justice Group. Each bid on men’s or hybrid options; none bid on a women’s facility.

MGT will help evaluate each proposal and determine whether it is likely to result in savings and still meet the state’s court-ordered standards.

The idea of privatizing the prison system raises several concerns. Opponents, including the State Employees’ Association of New Hampshire, say the concept of making a profit off of prisoners is at odds with the state’s goal of rehabilitation.

Hodgdon said evaluators will consider factors like public safety and the potential for corruption as they review each proposal.

“Those are all valid concerns. All different aspects of this have to be looked at. Is this really what’s best for New Hampshire?” she said.
She stressed that the hiring of MGT does not mean the state will ultimately opt for privatization.

There are a number of possibilities on the table: A private corporation could be hired to build a prison facility but not operate it, or to build and operate a new facility, or to operate an existing facility, or none of the above.

“The MGT help we’re getting may in fact paint a picture that this is not a good idea, or it may say this is a good idea but only under the following conditions,” Hodgdon said, noting the review could result in drafting a whole new request for proposals. “It may not be a definite do something or do nothing, it may be this looks like it needs further exploration.”

Any final decisions will be made by the governor, the Executive Council and the Legislature. The Department of Administrative Services will simply provide feedback on the various proposals, Hodgdon said.

Lyons said there is no firm time frame for when the review process will be complete, but a report could emerge as soon as late summer or early fall.

“Before the end of the year, we hope to have some kind of report in place to determine whether privatization is an option and how deeply it should be considered,” he said.