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Johnson County sheriff questions cost of private jails

Source: By FINN BULLERS, The Kansas City Star (MO), Mon, Oct. 08, 2007 10:15 PM

Forget housing inmates in private jails, Johnson County Sheriff Frank Denning says. He thinks he can house an inmate for $30 less a day.

In May, county commissioners met with a spokesman from one of the nation's largest private penal firms to consider the county's growing jail needs and how to avoid building more cells.

Denning has called private jails a "train wreck" that would compromise public safety and drive up costs.