Public Sector's Responsibilities in Privatizing Court Related and Correctional Services (From Privatizing the United States Justice System: Police, Adjudication, and Corrections Services From the Private Sector, P 281-289, 1992, Gary W Bowman, Simon Hakim, et al., eds. - See NCJ- 137785)

• NCJ Number: 137801
• Author(s): R J Gemignani
• Date Published: 1992
• Length: 9 pages
• Sale Source: McFarland & Company, Inc.
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The successful privatization of court-related services and correctional services depends on government's awareness and knowledge of the intricacies of contracting out specific services.

Abstract

Public administrators should focus particular attention on the preparation phase and should avoid a rush to contract at all costs. Obtaining data is a crucial step in making good decisions. Research on several probation departments considering contracting revealed that government must obtain and effectively use data on costs, organization and service, legal and liability issues, procurement, and needs and attitudes of employees and administrators. If sufficient attention is paid to these factors, the second major phase, contracting, should run smoothly. This phase begins with the issuing of a request for proposals, continues with the review of proposals, moves to developing and negotiating the contract document, and concludes with the steps involved in an orderly transfer of functions to the private sector. The final phase in the privatization process is monitoring contract performance. Government must monitor carefully due both to its responsibility and ultimate liability for people involved in the courts and corrections and to the need to ensure that tax funds are being spent wisely. When each phase of privatization is handled effectively, a public- private partnership will evolve that will improve court- related and correctional services.