NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Several Nashville businessmen have formed a company to manage jails for federal, state and local governments nationwide -- a concept patterned after the highly successful Hospital Corporation of America.
Corrections Corporation of America will revolutionize the construction and maintenance of jail and prison systems, the firm's owner say.
CCA's president, former Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Tom Beasley, said the key to the concept involves successful classification of prisoners according to the level of risk.
'We will deal with the prisoners according to the risk level of each individual,' he said. 'Those who don't pose a great harm to society and to each other will be in less secure facilities.
'CCA will be to jails and prisons that are owned and managed by local, state and federal governments, what Hospital Corporation of America has become to medical facilities nationwide,' Beasley said.
The company is chartered in 26 states, including Tennessee, and officials say it will eventually be chartered in all states.
Hospital Corporation of America, which owns and manages hospitals worldwide, is also a Nashville-based firm. It has grown in 14 years to the largest hospital management firm in the world and last quarter reported record earnings.
'The concept behind the idea is to remove a huge social problem from the public to the private sector. It is the same concept as Hospital Corporation of America. It is simple, it is free enterprise,' said Lucius Burch, president of the investment group.'
Three to five contracts are expected to be executed in the next 12 months and revenues during the first year of operation are expected to range between $12 million and $15 million, a company announcement said.
