History Main / PrivateProfitPrison

* This practice is an old one. In medieval Europe prisons were often privately run and owned. The rich prisoners were allowed to pay for nice quarters and treatment. Poor ones however were forced to beg passers by just so they'd be fed while living in small damp cells with very limited light.

* Most of the prisons seen in Franchise/TheDCU are managed by some of the villains who run companies, rather than the government. Famous DC prisons like Belle Reve, Arkham Asylum and Iron Heights are usually managed by characters like ComicBook/AmandaWaller, [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Dr. Sivana]] or [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Hugo Strange]] for their own profit, business or plans instead of what their own government states on them.
* Issues 34 and 35 of the ''ComicBook/{{Invader Zim|Oni}}'' comics feature Moo-Ping 10, a space station-based prison where you can pay to have your enemies imprisoned. Zim in particular is shown to use it just to get rid of people who he doesn't like (or in one guy's case, just ''looking like'' someone he doesn't like). Unfortunately for him, however, the aliens running the prison are also very strict about payments -- when he falls behind on his (due to putting [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} GIR]] in charge of them) they [[LaserGuidedKarma lock him up as well]], forcing him to spend two issues trying to figure out how to escape.

** A later arc had the Raft being bought out by Augustus Roman, who is secretly a villain named The Regent who uses PowerParasite technology to leech superpowers from the prisoners. His ultimate plan is to become powerful enough to capture all the superheroes as well so he can eventually [[FinalSolution execute all superhumans]].
* ''ComicBook/TylerCross'': Tyler ends up locked up in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_State_Penitentiary Angola prison]], with several pages of the warden discussing how he can make even more off of it, like buying even lower-quality food for the inmates and skipping on supplies (the state provides $0.40 a day, of which the prison spends $0.07)). The prison's accountant is also a convict, who was sent there for murdering his wife and [[spoiler:his]] lover, and is now in a relationship with one of the guards. The warden's wife also regularly rapes the inmates she takes a fancy to.
* The mini-series ''ComicBook/WelcomeToHoxford'' takes place in one that doubles as a HellholePrison for the worst of the worst - [[spoiler:and a PeopleFarm for the werewolves that run it]].

* In ''Film/{{Fortress|1992}}'', the prison is run by the Men-Tel Corporation, which asserts that the prisoners are its property. This includes the ''unborn children'' of female prisoners, as the movie takes place in a BadFuture with strict population control, where having more than one child is illegal. The children are confiscated at birth, and converted into the cyborgs deployed by Men-Tel.
* ''Film/NoEscape1994'': All prisons are private in the 2022 the film portrays, with the prisoners deemed assets for the corporations which run them. For the most dangerous prisoners, they have illegal prison Absolom, an island where they're dumped and left on their own except for supply drops.

* ''Film/TalesFromTheHood2'' has a CorruptCorporateExecutive - Mr. [[PunnyName Dumass Beach]] - that owns a chain of them, and is currently developing a [[LawEnforcementInc robotic police force]] to make it easier to fill them up.

* ''Literature/{{Oathbringer}}'' (third book of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''): One of the Skybreaker tests has the new recruits investigating a small private prison where the prisoners escaped and killed the guard on the way out. Note that this is considered "bleeding heart progressive" by the world's standards; they're still mostly at the stage where all criminals are executed as a matter of course. The recruits are told to hunt down the prisoners and bring them back dead or alive; the test proctors already have received writs of execution for all of them. Szeth realizes that the reason the prisoners were able to escape was because the prison was of shoddy construction with only one guard--the warden had been spending the absolute minimum amount of money and pocketing the rest. Szeth asks if he's allowed to execute the warden. [[HiddenPurposeTest The proctors tell him his writ of execution was the first one they received]].
* ''[[Literature/{{Shannara}} The Wishsong of Shannara]]'' has the [[OurGnomesAreWeirder gnome]] prison of Dun Fee Aran; exactly who runs it isn't clear (beyond the fact that they're gnomes) but they have no loyalty to any nation or faction and it's explicitly stated that ''anyone'' can have their enemies locked up there, so long as they have the money to pay the wardens. [[LizardFolk Stythys]], a secondary antagonist, pays to have Jair, one of the heroes, kept there after he captures him so he can study Jair's unusual magical powers in a controlled environment; luckily for Jair, his companions manage to bust him out.
* In the Franchise/SherlockHolmes novel ''A Study in Murder'' by Robert Ryan, Dr. Watson is a prisoner of war in a German camp during [=WW1=] whose commandant makes a good profit getting his prisoners, many of them upper-class Allied officers, to pay for food parcels and other luxuries to be mailed to them. When Watson objects, the commandant points out that the neighbouring prison camp is a lot worse, given that the Romanian and Russian prisoners there are literally worked to death in the mines. Watson however suspects that this atmosphere of amoral exploitation has been taken to its logical conclusion, and several prisoners who have paid huge bribes to escape from the camp are actually being murdered.
* ''Literatire/SnowCrash'': Like just about everything else in America, law enforcement and prisons have been privatized. When arrested by private police, they ask which prison she'd prefer to be taken to. Y.T. ponders her options of various cutesy-themed franchise prisons she could be taken to.
* In ''Literature/TheShipWho'' novel ''PartnerShip'', the factory that Polyon is [[ReassignedToAntarctica assigned to]] uses [[PrisonersWork prison labor]] to manufacture "hyperchips", which is a hazardous affair already. After he takes over he removes all safety-related regulations and increases production considerably, at the cost of the prisoners - many of them innocent - frequently dying in various horrible ways.

* Discussed on ''Series/AdamRuinsEverything'', when Emily gets sent to jail to await trial after being MistakenForJunkie in an earlier episode. They do everything they can to keep their beds full, so they can't be sued by the corporation that owns them, and (partly as [[CuttingCorners a cost-saving measure]], and partly because of "tough on crime" rhetoric) their educational and vocational training programs are a thing of the past. Another prisoner is denied parole because of this.

* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' had an episode about a prison that, although not private as a whole, had privatized its healthcare. This leads to a dangerous schizophrenic inmate not being properly treated in order to cut costs. He subsequently murders someone immediately after his release, and the [=DAs=] must ensure the person responsible for his care is held to account.

* ''Lockdown'' in ''TabletopGame/MutantsAndMasterminds'', is an ExtranormalPrison run by a company called American Security Concerns, which is actually a front for a criminal organisation called the Cartel. They use the prison to recruit supercriminals, while providing them with a perfect alibi; they're already in jail!

* ''VideoGame/{{BioShock2}}'': Persephone was originally one of these; Ryan was too convinced of his utopia to build prison facilities into Rapture, so Agustus Sinclair created one himself for the inevitable undesirables who would crop up. By the present, however, he's been overthrown by [[PsychoPsychologist Sofia Lamb]], who uses it as her base of operations.
* ''{{VideoGame/Freelancer}}'': [[LawEnforcementInc Liberty Police Inc.]] are ''very'' interested in maintaining their prison workforces.
* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' Jack is found on board a prison ship run by the Blue Suns mercenary company. They not only take prisoners on board for a fee, but occasionally they threaten to unleash the inmates on a planet or station when their budget is tight, thus extorting money from the local government. The prisoners are not treated well either, with Shepard coming across a guy getting beaten by the guards. And to top it all off, Warden Kuril, the guy who runs this ship, also makes a tidy profit in selling select prisoners as slaves, which Shepard and company do ''not'' take kindly to. He also tries to [[BullyingADragon abduct Shepard]], which they take even ''less'' kindly.
* ''VideoGame/PrisonArchitect'': The entire point. You manage a prison, trying to make it as profitable as possible. The prison riot tutorial is ultimately started by a violent prisoner discovering this fact; [[spoiler:he then [[MentorOccupationalHazard kills your CEO]] for taking bribes to keep prisoners behind bars to make more money]].
* ''Videogame/SunlessSea:'' Wisdom Prison works like this. They do pay you for every prisoner you drop off, but their ransom fees are ''exorbitant'' (be it in cash or valuable secrets) and escape is [[TheAlcatraz not much of an option]] either, so they make a profit nonetheless and are kept well informed by all who need to drop off dangerous prisoners, from simple mutineers and outlaws to Khanate spies and [[{{Golem}} Unfinished Men]]. [[spoiler:Those prisoners that are never ransomed off are fed to the Knot-Oracles outside, which will speak out their deepest secrets over the next few days or so, keeping the Governor running the whole thing (a top-class intriguer) even more well informed]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheChristmasTree'': [[EvilOrphanageLady Mrs. Mavilda]] runs [[OrphanageOfFear the orphanage]] similarly to this. She keeps the kids in rags and practically on a starvation diet just to keep the money. She even keeps a set of nice clothes around for them to wear just for inspections to cover up her schemes.

** The epilogue of the episode "The PTA Disbands" showcased Springfield Elementary becoming one of these in order to provide money to raise the budget. Which meant psychotic killers and violent robbers sharing the classroom space with innocent kids (and Bart). And the teachers don't care one bit.
** Parodied in "The Great Louse Detective", which shows in a quick gag that the federal maximum security prison that houses Sideshow Bob is sponsored by ''Campbell's Soup''.
** In "The Seven-Beer Snitch", the town of Springfield builds a concert hall to show Shelbville they're not a bunch of hicks. When it fails, Mr. Burns buys the hall and turns it into a prison. To increase profits, he persuades Mayor Quimby and Chief Wiggum into enforcing LoonyLaws.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': In [[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS12E3TheKrustySlammerPineappleRV "The Krusty Slammer"]], Krabs turns his restaurant into a prison not only because a cop offered him money to do so but also because otherwise the lack of space in the regular prison would save Plankton for serving time after being arrested for vandalism. When Krabs takes in other inmates, he still wants to keep his restaurant so he tricks his patrons into thinking it's a prison-themed restaurant. He later realizes he must either let the inmates [[LuxuryPrisonSuite live in luxury]] or let them disturb the patrons and tries to save money by releasing them before their time is up. When he's arrested for it, Krabs is sent to a prison ran by Plankton.
* Shown rather horrifically in ''WesternAnimation/WendellAndWild''. The Klaxons run an enterprise of building private prisons, and make money off every prisoner they get. Their daughter Siobhan is under the mistaken assumption that private prisons are like fancy hotels, until she does some investigating and finds out how horrible they really are. She confronts her parents about how they treat the inhabitants of their prisons like rats, with horrid conditions, garbage food, and practically no decent medical resources. Her parents are actually ''proud'' of Siobhan for figuring this out, and think she's onboard with their plan [[spoiler:to open up a new prison and fill it with at risk children whom will be denied every opportunity possible to ensure they become criminals and end up jailed which will make them more money. The Klaxons are eventually jailed themselves after their numerous crimes, such as arson and murder, are exposed.]]

** The third season has the prison named the '''Lodge Detention Center'''. Despite being apprehended by the FBI, he's able to get good food and get some of the guards to implicate his wife in a murder incident.

* In ''[[Literature/TheShipWho PartnerShip]]'', the factory that Polyon is [[ReassignedToAntarctica assigned to]] uses [[PrisonersWork prison labor]] to manufacture "hyperchips", which is a hazardous affair already. After he takes over he removes all safety-related regulations and increases production considerably, at the cost of the prisoners - many of them innocent - frequently dying in various horrible ways.

* ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'': Late into the second season, this is revealed to be the purpose of [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Hiram Lodge's]] mysterious [=SoDale=] project, for which he greatly devalued the already impoverished [[TheCityNarrows Southside]] to acquire the land cheap. He admits to Archie the profits it will create will ensure his family's fortunes for generations, and sells it to the people by claiming it will restore law and ensure greater safety following the [[SerialKiller Black Hood]] murder spree. However, it turns out to only be the tip of the iceberg of [[IOwnThisTown his ambitions]].

Such prisons often go hand-in-hand with [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slavery]], using the prisoners as cheap labor and {{Human Traffick|ers}}ing and not allowing them any other options. A common feature of a PrivatelyOwnedSociety. May be connected to a LawEnforcementInc If the existence of this prison is a secret, then you have a BlackSite on your hands.

* In ''Film/{{Fortress|1992}}'', the prison is run by the Men-Tel Corporation, which asserts that the prisoners are its property.

* ''Film/TheRunningMan'' has a variation of this, convicts are put in to a maze filled with death traps and Stalkers who hunt them down. If they win (which they don't) they earn pardons, if they lose they end up dead (which they do). It's run by a CorruptCorporateExecutive TV Host style, with high ratings, advertisements, and prizes for the studio audience. (Note this only really applies to the movie version, not the original novel, where the main character volunteered for the show.)

** In "The Seven-Beer Snitch", the town of Springfield builds a concert hall to show Shelbville they're not a bunch of hicks. When it fails, Mr. Burns buys the hall and turns it into a prison. To increase profits, he persuades Mayor Quimby and Chief Wiggum into enforcing [[LoonyLaw loony laws]].

* The 2008 [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kids_for_cash_scandal "Kids for Cash" scandal]] involved a pair of Pennsylvania judges being tried and convicted of accepting bribes from for profit prisons to impose harsh sentences on juvenile offenders in order to increase the occupancy of said prisons.

* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' Jack is found on board a prison ship run by the Blue Suns mercenary company. They not only take prisoners on board for a fee, but occasionally they threaten to unleash the inmates on a planet or station when their budget is tight, thus extorting money from the local government. The prisoners are not treated well either, with Shepard coming across a guy getting beaten by the guards. And to top it all off, Warden Kuril, the guy who runs this ship, also makes a tidy profit in selling select prisoners as slaves, which Shepard and company do ''not'' take kindly to.

* The 2008 [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kids_for_cash_scandal "Cash for Kids" scandal]] involved a pair of Pennsylvania judges being tried and convicted of accepting bribes from for profit prisons to impose harsh sentences on juvenile offenders in order to increase the occupancy of said prisons.

* The mini-series ''ComicBook/WelcomeToHoxford'' takes place in one that doubles as a HellholePrison for the worst of the worst - [[spoiler: and a PeopleFarm for the werewolves that run it]].

* ''VideoGame/PrisonArchitect'': The entire point. You manage a prison, trying to make it as profitable as possible. The prison riot tutorial is ultimately started by a violent prisoner discovering this fact; [[spoiler: he then [[MentorOccupationalHazard kills your CEO]] for taking bribes to keep prisoners behind bars to make more money]].