Privatization of Corrections: Two Canadian Perspectives (From Privatizing the United States Justice System: Police, Adjudication, and Corrections Services From the Private Sector, P 294-324, 1992, Gary W Bowman, Simon Hakim, et al., eds. - See NCJ-137785)

• NCJ Number: 137803
• Author(s): D Hawe; H Sapers; P Doyle
• Date Published: 1992
• Length: 31 pages
• Sale Source: McFarland & Company, Inc.
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The organizational transformation of the Correctional Service of Canada and the John Howard Society of Alberta was accelerated by a set of significant policy initiatives undertaken by the Canadian Federal Government in a context of scarce resources and resulting constraint, stress, and uncertainty in the affected services.

Abstract

The process began following the 1984 election of a Progressive Conservative government that focused on economic renewal through control of the budget deficit, stimulating business, and making government more efficient and less obstructive of the private sector. A task force was established to review government management, services, and delivery. As a result, the Federal Government initiated greater privatization of correctional services as well as the use of Federal-provincial agreements to address internal and external issues and factors, thereby changing relationships between and among both governmental and nongovernmental correctional agencies. Although Federal officials are refining the process by which privatization initiatives will be considered, the main concern will probably be cost. Therefore, the discussion of what services are delivered and who delivers them will probably continue to be based on political ideology and administrative perception rather than on research. Tables, notes, and 19 references