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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Do private prisons rely on federal contracts for half of their revenue?

By Seth Smalley
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YES

CoreCivic Inc. and GEO Group Inc., two of the largest private prison operators in America, rely on payments from federal correctional and detention authorities for about half of their revenue, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In 2019, 51% of CoreCivic's revenue came from federal sources. In the same year, U.S. government customers accounted for 69% of GEO Group's consolidated revenue.

The companies' customers include federal agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Marshals Service, as well as state and local governments. In 2018, according to Public Citizen, a nonprofit advocacy group, the federal government spent $2.32 billion with the ten largest prison operators, more than double what they received in 2013.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Securities and Exchange Commission: CoreCivic Inc. Form 10-K (Dec. 31, 2019)
SEC: GEO Group Inc. Form 10-K (Dec. 31, 2019)
Public Citizen: Detained for profit
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.