NCJ Number
171504
Journal
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology Volume: 30 Issue: 3 Dated: (December 1997) Pages: 259-274
Date Published
1997
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This article compares privately managed prisons with similar prisons in the public sector.
Abstract
Studies in the United States and Australia suggest that, compared with similar prisons in the public sector, privately managed prisons appear to operate at lower cost, without any significant reduction in the quality of service. However, regimes of equal quality are found in the public sector, showing that privately managed prisons have no monopoly on innovation or good practice. Reviewing the claim that privatization is intended to have a cross-fertilization effect on the whole prison system, it is difficult to separate the effects of other changes on prison conditions and regime delivery. It is more likely that the new competitive ethos and the introduction of new management techniques have encouraged prison managers to economize, innovate, and often match the achievements of the private sector. If and when there is very little to choose between the cost and quality of the two sectors, it will be increasingly difficult to reach an informed view on the appropriate size and scope of the private sector in the mixed economy of the penal estate for the 21st century. Notes, references