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The care and feeding of one million American prisoners is a big business. Privately managed prison beds are increasing about 35 percent a year, and the demographics of inmates are changing rapidly. More prisoners are women or elderly, and have drug problems, AIDS ....

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.... streets, they also created a huge and rapidly growing industry funded by American taxpayers. The private sector is heavily involved in prison management, and prison privatization is one of the country's hottest industries. Some companies manage entire prisons, while others specialize in particular operations such as health or food services. And manufacturers prosper when they provide the many additional necessary items, from uniforms and bedding to surveillance and monitoring equipment. If current trends continue, the prison population will increase rapidly in the next decade. Even without growth, the current prison population would still be much ....