The GEO Group Inc. will now operate the Arizona state prison in Kingman. The company is taking over the more than $70 million-a-year contract from the previous private prison operator.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey ended that agreement with Management & Training Corporation in August because of a report that found the company consistently violated its contract with the Department of Corrections. According to the report, the facility was chronically understaffed and undertrained but MTC put on a “façade of desired compliance” for auditors.
The investigation of the facility was triggered by riots in early July that destroyed large portions of the prison. More than 1,500 inmates were moved to other facilities during repairs. The Cerbat Unit is scheduled to be fully repaired by the end of the week and the Hualapai Unit is slated to be fully operational by January 2016.
According to the contract, prisoners will start to be moved back to the facility as early as December. GEO Group has agreed to operate the prison until at least 2023 at the current daily rate of $60.10 per-day, per-inmate. The contract guarantees a 97 percent occupancy rate on the 3,400 bed facility.
GEO Group will start training staff at the prison Monday and will take full operational control by December. The company currently runs three other state prisons and is the subject of multiple sexual harassment lawsuits brought by employees.
