NCJ Number
131294
Date Published
1988
Length
247 pages
Annotation
Florida officials have voiced concerns about the viability of privatized corrections and have commissioned an analytical study of various constitutional and legal issues associated with privatization.
Abstract
Faced with rapid inmate growth in already overcrowded correctional facilities, many jurisdictions are being forced to consider the potential of privatized corrections. Florida's analysis of privatization first looks at the privatization movement in economic, social, and political contexts. Trends that have reshaped public attitudes toward government over the past 25 years are considered as well as specific pressures that the juvenile and criminal justice systems have encountered. Constitutional and legal issues in privatization are addressed including the key constitutional question of whether privatization flows from a constitutional or unconstitutional delegation of government powers that are and must remain uniquely governmental in nature. Civil liability under provisions of traditional tort law and Federal civil rights law is an important aspect of the analysis. Independent legal issues of various interest groups are explored, such as whether private correctional employees can strike, can use lethal or nonlethal force, will be granted access to various types of criminal records, and will encounter problems in their efforts to conduct disciplinary hearings. The final section deals with three related and fundamental issues: whether privatization is an alternative the government should take seriously; apparent virtues and weaknesses of privatization; and mechanisms by which serving the public interest can be maximized if government determines that privatization is in the public interest. A selected privatization bibliography and references to case law are included.