NCJ Number
154233
Date Published
1995
Length
311 pages
Annotation
Directed to policymakers, corrections officials, researchers, and academicians, this volume presents a historical review of private prisons and examines the ethical, legal, political, theoretical, economic, management, and personnel issues involved in the privatization of prisons.
Abstract
The discussion notes that private involvement with adult correctional institutions takes three major forms: private financing and construction of prisons, private industry involvement in prisons through vocational and other programs, and the management and operation of an entire correctional facility by a private contractor. The analysis also presents findings from empirical evaluations of private correctional facilities, noting that the United States General Accounting Office has concluded that the studies to date have not demonstrated a clear advantage of private prisons over publicly operated prisons. Emphasizing that the clientele being discussed is not only considered socially undesirable but also is vulnerable to social and political manipulation, the author argues that the privatization debate deals with the symptoms and not the causes of crime and has impeded the development of alternatives to the prevailing punishment policies. The analysis concludes that both punishment and incarceration need improvement not only to provide better service but also to keep the profit motive away from the administration of justice, where it might create a conflict of interests between the public good and private greed. Chapter reference notes, index, and over 500 references