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New Hampshire
Legislature
October 29, 2004 Concord Monitor
Gov. Craig Benson has said he is still considering shipping some inmates out of
state to private prisons. But state officials who reviewed the proposals said
they told Benson months ago the plan won't save the money predicted.
Instead of the $19 million annual savings that Benson's efficiency
committee projected, the state could save, at best, $300,000 a year, according
to two people who reviewed the bids.
"We made our evaluation, and we sent it to the governor's office
with our recommendation some months ago," said Rep. David Welch, a Kingston
Republican who helped study proposals from two private prisons. "We just
didn't see any significant cost savings. It's now up to the governor to act one
way or another." And at staff meeting last month, Stephen Curry,
corrections commissioner, told employees that the bids were still being
evaluated, according to minutes of the meeting. When an employee confronted
Curry with reports that the committee had concluded its study and had found no
savings in the proposals, Curry said the matter was confidential.
June 10, 2004
A Merrimack Superior Court judge has set a date for a hearing in a state prison
inmate's suit against Gov. Craig Benson over a plan to ship up to 1,000 medium
security inmates out of state. Two weeks ago, Judge Kathleen McGuire
scheduled Nov. 22 as the day when inmate David Michaud can present his
case. The governor has proposed to send prisoners out of state as a cost
saving measure. In February, the governor's office sent out a request for
proposal (RFP), asking companies to bid on the right to study the feasibility of
moving up to 1,000 medium security prisoners out of state. In March, the
proposals were due, but only one company had bid by the deadline. The governor's
office re-bid the proposal. So far, Benson has not taken steps to further the
plan. During an open court hearing in April, Michaud argued the proposal by the
governor is causing "anxiety" and "uncertainty" at New
Hampshire State Prison. Also, Michaud claimed the governor's office will
automatically give the contract to Corrections Corporation or America, the only
company to previously bid on the proposal. Corrections Corporation of America (CCA),
participated in the governor's efficiency commission findings which recommended
privatizing prison operations. Michaud said this allowed the company to
have vital information months before any other bidder. Concord attorney Andrew
Serell, who represented CCA in Merrimack County Superior Court, said Michaud's
claims were unfounded. Last week, Benson nominated Brig. Gen. Stephen
Curry to become the new Corrections Commissioner. Executive councilors
Ruth Griffin, R-Portsmouth, Ray Burton, R-Bath and Peter Spaulding, R-Hopkinton,
all said they do not support the transfer
and hoped, if confirmed by the council, Curry would not move forward with the
proposal. (N.H. statehouse)
March 13, 2004
After receiving only one bid, the state will rebid its proposal to send
up to 1,000 prison inmates out of state, a spokesman for Gov. Craig Benson said
Friday. "We want to gather more
information," said Wendell Packard. Packard said
the new request for proposals probably will be issued next week. The
State Employees Association, which represents corrections employees, renewed its
criticism of the effort Friday. The
union complained that the only bidder to date --
Corrections Corporation of America
-- has a conflict of interest because it participated in a state Efficiency
Commission that recommended privatizing prison operations. (Boston.com)
December 15, 2003
If New Hampshire turned its entire prison system over to a private company, it
would be the first state in the nation to do so. While private prisons provide
space for 94,000 inmates across the country, no state has privatized all of its
prisons. In fact, less than 7 percent of inmates nationwide are in private
facilities. The company cited by the government efficiency commission,
Corrections Corporation of America, runs 59 jails and prisons with space for
59,000 inmates in 20 states. New Hampshire has four prisons with 2,500
inmates. According to the report, the commission wants the state to
consider sending prisoners to private prisons in other states, building private
prisons here and having a private company take over the existing prisons.
How much New Hampshire would save is unclear. The report released yesterday says
that a private company could save the state $11 per an inmate per day, with a
total savings of $10 million a year. But that figure is based on the cost
of housing inmates at prisons out of state, according to John Babiarz, a member
of the commission. It does not include the cost of transporting them.
Corrections Corporation of American, which the governor's office has asked to
put together a proposal, said that it gave the commission the $57 a day figure
as a ballpark estimate for the cost of housing inmates out of state, according
to Steve Owen, a company spokesman. The company has not calculated how much it
would charge to run the New Hampshire's prison system or if it would want to,
Owen said. The Nashville-based company does not run any prisons in the
Northeast. Whether private prisons have an economic advantage over public
ones is unclear, according to Dan Mears, a researcher at the Urban Institute in
Washington, D.C., a group that studies criminal justice issues. Few unbiased
studies exist, he said. The ones that do show minimal savings for privately run
prisons. And in some instances, the savings don't pay for themselves.
States should look at hidden costs, like an inmate's ability to find a job and
housing when he or she is released, and the possibility of lawsuits.
"If a private prison ends up hiring less quality staff than the state would
and they end up abusing inmates, a lawsuit could result," Mears said.
And not only is the company liable, the state is as well, according to Mike
Sheehan, a Concord lawyer who works on prison issues. Critics of private
prisons suspect that companies cut costs by understaffing, poor training for
staff and reducing rehabilitative services like drug and alcohol
counseling. "You can save money, but the question is whether it's a
good idea," said Philip Mattera, who helped write a report on Corrections
Corporation of America. According to Owen, Corrections Corporation saves
the most money for its public clients in building new prisons. The company can
complete projects more quickly than government agencies. (C Monitor)
Seabrook
Nuclear Power Plant
Seabrook, New Hampshire
Wackenhut (Group 4)
May 14, 2008 Seacoast Online
Three nuclear power plant security officers were the triggermen during separate
accidental shootings during the past nine months, according to police. The most
recent incident involved an off-duty Seabrook Station security officer who
accidentally shot a 9 mm bullet through his hand and will face criminal charges
after making some medical progress, said Seabrook Police Chief Patrick Manthorn.
"He’s going to need quite a bit of reconstructive surgery," said Manthorn. "The
bullet went through his palm and exited out the back of his hand. Because of the
type of bullet, there was mushrooming, so the hole got bigger in the back."
Manthorn is not naming the power plant shooter until charges are filed. The
Seabrook chief did identify him as a resident of the Governor Weare Apartment
complex, at 689 Lafayette Road, Seabrook, the same address where another
off-duty nuclear plant officer misfired his gun in a different building during
an unrelated incident. That shooting occurred Jan. 25 when power plant security
trainer Joshua Hill pulled the trigger of his Springfield Armory handgun and
shot a .45 caliber bullet through the floor of his apartment and into the living
space below. Manthorn said Hill, a security instructor at the nuke plant, was
cleaning his gun at the time "and didn’t realize it was loaded." The most recent
shooting was "contained within the apartment," he said. Hill, 28, of 30 Lower
New Zealand Road, pleaded guilty on Feb. 11 to a related charge of reckless
conduct-placing another person in danger. In exchange for his plea, he was
sentenced to 30 days in the Rockingham County House of Corrections, with all of
it suspended pending his good behavior for one year and a $300 fine. A third
recent and accidental shooting by a power plant officer was reported to Seabrook
police in the fall, Manthorn confirmed Wednesday. That shooting occurred when
the unnamed officer was holstering a 357 SigArms pistol and "a round went off in
the (nuclear plant) armory," said Manthorn. No charges were filed, said the
Seabrook chief. In 2002, another unnamed nuclear plant security guard was
suspended without pay after he accidentally fired his gun inside a plant
security post. Seabrook power plant officers are not employed by the plant, but
by the Wackenhut Corporation, a $3 billion global security provider with
headquarters in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. In response to the Herald’s request for
comment, Wackenhut spokesman Marc Shapiro said he was unavailable for an
interview, while assuring, "all Wackenhut employees undergo a rigid employment
screening process before hire. Then, they are thoroughly trained in accordance
with (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) requirements."
April 29, 2008 Seacoast Online
Police are investigating an accidental shooting in the apartment of a
nuclear power plant security officer, the second accidental discharge by an
off-duty nuclear plant security officer this year. Both shootings occurred at
the Governor Weare Apartment complex at 689 Lafayette Road, said Seabrook Police
Chief Patrick Manthorn, adding they occurred in different buildings during
unrelated incidents. Manthorn said the most recent shooting by a Seabrook
Station security officer involved a 9 mm handgun and was "contained within the
apartment." The police chief said details, including the date of the incident,
whether any injuries resulted and the security officer’s identity, will not be
immediately released due to an ongoing investigation. "We may be charging him
criminally," said Manthorn. On Jan. 25, power plant security trainer Joshua Hill
pulled the trigger of his Springfield Armory handgun and shot a .45 caliber
bullet through the floor of his apartment into the living space below. "He was
cleaning his weapon and didn’t realize it was loaded," said Manthorn. Hill, 28,
of 30 Lower New Zealand Road, pleaded guilty on Feb. 11 to a related charge of
reckless conduct-placing another person in danger. In exchange for his plea, he
was sentenced to 30 days in the Rockingham County House of Corrections, with all
of it suspended pending his good behavior for one year and a $300 fine. Hill was
fined an additional $500, with $250 suspended contingent on the same year of
good behavior, said the Seabrook police chief. Both security officers are
employed by Wackenhut, a global security provider. Seabrook Station spokesman
Alan Griffith said he had no comment on either case, including whether the
incidents affected the officers’ employment at the nuclear power provider.
Griffith said because the shootings did not occur on power station property and
were "off hours," public comment about the men’s private lives is not
appropriate. "Safety is paramount" at the plant, said Griffith, adding "if
someone is involved in a situation" it is investigated fully and there are
consequences when appropriate. In 2002 an unnamed nuclear plant security guard
was suspended without pay after he accidentally fired his gun inside a plant
security post. Griffith described it then as "an accidental discharge of his
sidearm."
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