Second edition of “The Prison Industrial Complex: Mapping Private Sector Players” exposes over 3,900 companies profiting off the carceral state
NEW YORK, NY — Non-profit criminal justice advocacy organization Worth Rises is proud to announce the publication of the 2019 edition of The Prison Industrial Complex: Mapping Private Sector Playersreport. First published last year, the database that underlies the report has grown by more than 800 corporations to over 3,900 corporations across 12 sectors—ranging from construction to transportation and healthcare to telecom—and the investors that profit from the devastating mass incarceration of our nation’s marginalized communities. The report aggregates critical information about these corporations to help advocates, litigators, journalists, investors, artists, and the public challenge the commercialization of the criminal legal system.
Worth Rises Executive Director Bianca Tylek explained: “Before this report, many of the companies involved in the prison industrial complex flew below the radar, often intentionally to avoid the headline risk that comes with profiting off mass incarceration today. This data brings these companies to light and equips advocates with the information needed to challenge them. This year’s edition expands on our original report with the addition of more than 800 companies. In publishing this report, we continue to expose the multi-billion-dollar industry built off the vulnerable communities—disproportionately black, brown, and cash poor—targeted by the criminal legal system.”
The data provided inThe Prison Industrial Complex: Mapping Private Sector Playersserves as a starting point for investigation and invites readers to further explore the corporations captured. In addition to the raw data, the report includes a robust summary that breaks down each of the 12 sectors, including the notable players and recent developments in each. The report also includes a detailed methodology of our data-gathering.
WHAT’S NEW FOR 2019:
- Expanded geographic coverage with the addition of California’s correctional vendors
- New industries, including major bail bonds agencies and surety companies, prison architecture firms, and data and information technology providers
- Corporate involvement in immigration detention and deportation
- Corporate contributions to political campaigns for major corrections players
- Updated financials
Worth Rises is a criminal justice advocacy organization committed to dismantling the prison industrial complex and ending the exploitation of those it touches.
Prison Industry Divestment Movement 