We heard about private prisons...but do you know of the private probabion industry?
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people across the country who are ticketed for minor offenses are sentenced to probation managed by private companies, according to Human Rights Watch. In Alabama, it’s become a vicious cycle of fines, mounting fees and even jail time.
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“They pretend that they're a probation service,” Evans said. “In fact, they're not certified as state or federal probation officers. They're not trained as probation officers. What it provides to the city is a collection service.”
Mann said he was jailed for 30 days for non-payment. On another occasion, the Army veteran said JCS told him that if he didn’t pay $600 by the end of the day the town would lock him up again.
“He looked like he was crying,” said Mann’s wife, Rita Mann. “It scared me, ‘cause we didn't have $600. We were barely getting along … making and trying to pay bills.”
Rita Mann was able to borrow the money from her aunt. But she said the monthly JCS bills were unrelenting, even when her husband was in the hospital with an infection and she begged the company for a respite.
“I was struggling. I had to go to the hospital every day for my husband,” she said, her voice quivering. “I almost lost my husband. He likely died. And I explained that to them and they still didn't care. It was all about their money.”
http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/america-tonight/articles/2014/8/12/alabama-private-probation.html
http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/us0214_ForUpload_0.pdf
The private industries that are part of our justice system are preying on the poor and racial minorities especially. State and local governments contract with these companies because it saves taxpayer money. But human rights organizations say rights are routinely being violated by the private justice industry because making profit becomes the only goal.
These private probation companies are like bill collectors, and they threaten you with jail if you fail to pay them. The fines also increase rapidly with fees. A $150 speeding ticket can quickly turn into a $600 bill.
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