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Private Prison In Oklahoma Set To Close Under Biden Executive Order

The GEO Group
Great Plains Correctional Facility in Hinton, Okla. is operated by The GEO Group.

A private prison in Oklahoma is closing after an order from the Biden Administration to scale back the use of for profit institutions to detain federal prisoners.The GEO Group is planning to shut down The Great Plains Correctional Facility, its private prison in Hinton, in May in order to prepare for the federal drawdown.

A 2016 report from the U.S. Justice Department’s Inspector General found contract prisons were less safe than government prisons and needed more federal oversight.

But, in January, a spokesperson with The GEO Group said Biden's order was trying to solve a nonexistent problem.

"President Biden’s Executive Order merely represents a political statement, which could carry serious negative unintended consequences, including the loss of hundreds of jobs and negative economic impact for the communities where our facilities are located, which are already struggling economically due to the COVID pandemic," said the company statement.

According to the nonprofit news organization The Frontier, the town of Hinton will lose about $900,000 in revenue from the closure from utility bills, fees and sales tax generated in the community by workers at the prison. The prison is the small town's largest employer and about 230 people will lose their jobs as a result.

The company may try to find contracts with agencies other than the federal Bureau of Prisons to house more detainees in Hinton.

As of Monday, Great Plains held more than 1,500 federal prisoners.

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Quinton Chandler worked at StateImpact Oklahoma from January 2018 to August 2021, focusing on criminal justice reporting.
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