NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam says he doesn’t anticipate any imminent change in the state’s use of private prisons after an audit found some of those facilities were understaffed and the staffing information they provided was at times incorrect or withheld.
Haslam told reporters Monday he’ll meet with Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Tony Parker about the state comptroller’s audit of prisons run by CoreCivic, formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America.
The audit found Trousdale Turner Correctional Center and Whiteville Correctional Facility were consistently short-staffed, including in correctional officers.
Auditors found errors in reports from Trousdale and Hardeman County Correctional Center, while Trousdale didn’t provide half the signed shift rosters requested.
Haslam said there’s a cost-differential by using private prison contractors, which Tennessee has done for 25 years.