A private prison or for-profit prison is a place in which individuals are physically confined or incarcerated by a third party that is contracted by a government agency.
A correctional facility, detention center, gaol, jail, penitentiary, prison, or remand centre is a facility in which inmates are forcibly confined and denied a variety of freedoms under the authority of the state as a form of punishment.
Private prisons: How US corporations make money out of ... by Truthloader
Private prison companies typically enter into contractual agreements with governments that commit prisoners and then pay a per diem or monthly rate, either for each prisoner in the facility, or for each place available, whether occupied or not.
Per diem is a daily allowance for expenses—a specific amount of money an organization gives an individual, often an employee, per day to cover living expenses when traveling for work.
Prisons for Profit: 18 Months in the Life of the Nation's ... by acluohio
Such contracts may be for the operation only of a facility, or for design, construction and operation.