NCJ Number
130254
Date Published
1990
Length
32 pages
Annotation
European governments and Federal and State authorities in the U.S. were surveyed regarding the extent to which penal services in their countries have been privatized.
Abstract
The survey results indicate that arrangements to contract prison operations to private companies have largely failed in Europe, although there is widespread contracting for specific services for custodial institutions. The extent of privately operated non-custodial services and anticipated developments in privatization are outlined for France, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. Private penal and detention services in the U.S. are briefly described. Opportunities for privatization in both the U.S. and Europe include privately provided premises, privately managed prisons, contracted services, specialized institutions, prison work programs, and experimental prisons. In addition to objections of principle to penal privatization, there are practical objections including irrelevance, inefficiency, hidden costs, inflexibility, accountability, union objections, the creation of a pro-prison lobby, a supply-led increase in imprisonment, a covert increase in imprisonment, and civil liability suits. 28 references