The Paid Jailer
How Sheriff Campaign Dollars Shape Mass Incarceration
Do you know who is helping to put your sheriff in office?
A new report shows what happens when construction, health, gun, and technology companies receive lucrative contracts from the office of the sheriff in return for campaign dollars. We scoured six years' worth of public information & campaign finance reports. Our research found upwards of $6 million in campaign contributions that create potential conflicts of interest for the sheriffs of 11 different states.
Who Gives to Sheriff Campaigns?
$1,620,611
Construction companies and real estate business
$216,847
Tech Companies
$326,878
Legal Firms
+$260,000
Medical businesses and professionals
$286,826
transportation Companies
$70,679
Energy Industry
Why it matters
Sheriffs play key roles in mass incarceration, mass deportation and white supremacy
90% of sheriffs are white men, and a growing number of sheriffs have ties with white supremacist groups and far-right militias
More than 1,000 people die in county jails each year, and many of those deaths are preventable with proper medical and mental health care
Sheriffs serve as the bridge to mass deportation. In 2018, 47 percent of internal deportations came through sheriffs
Sheriff’s deputies kill people at a disproportionate rate, accounting for more than 400 shooting deaths per year
“Between the cracks of all these arrangements are myriad opportunities for grift, graft, and bribery.”
Construction companies, who go on to build bigger jails.
Gun shops, who hope sheriffs issue permits more quickly.
Legal firms, who end up representing the sheriff’s office in misconduct cases.
And many more. . .
It’s time for these dangerous conflicts of interest to end.