The Big Spring Correctional Center (BSCC) is a privately operated prison located in Big Spring,

Howard County, Texas Howard County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. At the 2020 census, its population was 34,860. Its county seat is Big Spring. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1882. It is named for Volney E. Howard, a U.S. Cong ...

, operated by the

GEO Group The GEO Group, Inc. (GEO) is a publicly traded C corporation that invests in private prisons and mental health facilities in North America, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, the company's f ...

under contract with the

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...

. It houses federal "deportable alien" detainees. BSCC should not be confused with the federally owned and operated

Federal Correctional Institution, Big Spring The Federal Correctional Institution, Big Spring (FCI Big Spring) is a low-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Texas. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The ...

in the same town, or its satellite camp. BSCC consists of four separate physical locations: * "Airpark", at 1701 Apron Drive, opened 1991, capacity 564, housed in 13 buildings formerly part of the decommissioned

Webb Air Force Base Webb Air Force Base , previously named Big Spring Air Force Base, was a United States Air Force facility of the Air Training Command that operated from 1951 to 1977 in West Texas within the current city limits of Big Spring. Webb AFB was a maj ...

* "Cedar Hill", at 3711 Wright Avenue, opened June 1998, capacity 520 * "Flightline", at 2001 Rickabaugh Drive, opened Feb 1995, capacity 520 * "Interstate", at 1801 W Interstate 20, opened 1989, capacity 417, in a converted 72-room former

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Closure

In August 2016, Justice Department officials announced that the FBOP would be phasing out its use of contracted facilities, because private prisons provided less safe and less effective services with no substantial cost savings. The agency had expected to allow current contracts on its thirteen remaining private facilities to expire. However, Attorney General Jeff Sessions criticized the August 2016 decision and reversed it on February 22, 2017. The prison's contract is expected to be renewed as it approaches expiration.

References

{{Federal Bureau of Prisons Prisons in Texas Buildings and structures in Howard County, Texas GEO Group 1989 establishments in Texas