Fact Sheet: Private equity-owned firms dominate prison and detention services

The document highlights the prevalence of private equity (PE) ownership in the US correctional services sector, noting that while public attention often focuses on publicly-traded prison operators, PE-owned firms providing communications, healthcare, and commissary services are more ubiquitous. It specifically links the scaling up of immigrant detention under the Trump administration to increased business for these PE-owned providers.

• Private equity firms utilize capital from institutional investors, including pension funds, endowments, insurance companies, and foundations, to invest in companies serving the more than two million people in US prisons, jails, and detention facilities.
• Private equity-owned firms providing ancillary services—such as medical, commissary, bail bonds, and phone services—are more widespread than the publicly-traded prison operators like GEO Group and CoreCivic.
• The Trump administration's increase in immigrant detention has provided additional business opportunities for PE-owned service providers, with specific examples including Securus (owned by Platinum Equity) and Global Tel Link (owned by American Securities) serving facilities like the Adelanto ICE Processing Center and Federal Correctional Complex, Victorville.

APA

Private Equity Stakeholder Project (2018). Fact Sheet: Private equity-owned firms dominate prison and detention services. https://pestakeholder.org/reports/fact-sheet-private-equity-owned-firms-dominate-prison-and-detention-services/

Chicago

Private Equity Stakeholder Project. Fact Sheet: Private equity-owned firms dominate prison and detention services. 2018. https://pestakeholder.org/reports/fact-sheet-private-equity-owned-firms-dominate-prison-and-detention-services/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Private Equity Stakeholder Project |title=Fact Sheet: Private equity-owned firms dominate prison and detention services |date=17 September 2018 |url=https://pestakeholder.org/reports/fact-sheet-private-equity-owned-firms-dominate-prison-and-detention-services/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{privateequitystakeholderproject2018fact, author = {{Private Equity Stakeholder Project}}, title = {{Fact Sheet: Private equity-owned firms dominate prison and detention services}}, institution = {Private Equity Stakeholder Project}, year = {2018}, month = sep, url = {https://pestakeholder.org/reports/fact-sheet-private-equity-owned-firms-dominate-prison-and-detention-services/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }