Editorial: It’s time to reopen closed youth prison

Thursday, Dec. 5, 2002 | 9:33 a.m.

In 2000 the state of Nevada opened Summit View Youth Correctional Center, but turned over the youth prison's operations to a private company, Correctional Services Corp. But nothing went right. Some of the guards, who received low wages, were poorly trained. There were escapes, and guards had sex with inmates. In January of this year, Summit View pulled out of its contract, saying it couldn't be profitable. So much for privatization's promise.

Gov. Kenny Guinn sought to reopen the prison and have the state run it. Administration officials believed the state could run the prison for about what it cost a private company and that a state-operated prison afforded accountability. But Guinn's effort unfortunately was derailed by the Legislature's Interim Finance Committee, which still believed the prison should be privatized. The prison remained closed, however, because a budget shortfall this year left no money available to open it. It is time to reopen Summit View because juvenile inmates either have been sent out of state or are spending time in county jails. The closure has placed youth inmates in limbo; as more time passes it becomes even more difficult to rehabilitate these younger inmates.

Guinn said this week he will seek funding from the Legislature to reopen Summit View and allow it to be run by the state. This is exactly the right move. Privatizing prisons is a bad idea -- something its track record has proven.