Policing

The Wyatt Detention Center continues operation on shaky financial ground

The Chair of the CFDFC admitted that the Wyatt Detention Center is “not in a good enough cash flow position to be paying anyone, honestly.”

Rhode Island News: The Wyatt Detention Center continues operation on shaky financial ground

July 6, 2021, 9:42 am

By Sara Van Horn

On Monday, June 28, James Lombardi, the Chair of the Central Falls Detention Facility Corporation, expressed concern over the Wyatt Detention Center’s financial standing. According to Lombardi, the Wyatt has made only one payment of $50,000 to the city of Central Falls since the facility’s last board meeting in late May.

According to Lombardi, the single payment of $50,000 was all that the facility could get approved by the bondholders – six financial institutions that are directly responsible for the Wyatt’s continued operation.

Although Lombardi articulated a desire to have the board members be “good corporate citizens,” he admitted that the Wyatt Detention Center is “not in a good enough cash flow position to be paying anyone, honestly.”

The Wyatt Detention Center is a publicly-owned, privately-operated prison, which generates about $114 per day for every person detained on behalf of ICE. Although the facility was originally built to provide funds to a cash-strapped Central Falls, the Wyatt has frequently been unable to deliver on its mission of deriving public revenue from human incarceration. Instead, the Wyatt directs most of its revenue to the investment firms that provided the loans for its construction and maintenance.

According to Lombardi, there are now 631 people incarcerated at the Wyatt, which is more than double the average population for the month of May. The ICE population alone has tripled over the past month, jumping from 31 to 102 people.

All minutes and meeting recordings of the CFDFC can be found at the RI Secretary of State website.

Here’s the video of the meeting: