Women Prisoners as Customers: Counting the Costs of the Privately Managed Metropolitan Womens Correctional Centre (From Women in Corrections: Staff and Clients, P 1-8, 2000, Australian Institute of Criminology -- See NCJ-187936)

• NCJ Number: 187942
• Author(s): Amanda George
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 8 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: Paper presented at the Women in Corrections: Staff and Clients Conference held in Adelaide, Australia, October 31-November 1, 2000. Downloaded March 21, 2001

Annotation

This paper examines the costs to women inmates of the privatizing of Deer Park Women's Prison in Victoria (Australia), who paid the price, and why this failed "radical social experiment" was allowed to continue for so long.

Abstract

In 1996, amid much community protest, the Victorian government opened the first private women's prison outside the United States. At the time, Victorians were spending $2.00 per citizen each year on women prisoners. By privatizing prisons, the government promised it would save each Victorian citizen 20 cents a year. Women inmates were promised better conditions, and society was promised greater prison accountability through parliamentary scrutiny. In September 2000, however, The Victorian Corrections Commissioner presented a report that cited high levels of self-harm, assaults on officers, and the continuing failure of the prison to have adequate suicide prevention procedures. The tear-gassing of women inmates was cited twice in 3 months in 1999. The Commissioners also reported high levels of inmate isolation for protection. Further, four years of Commissioners Report have identified unacceptable levels of inmate self-injury, inmate-on-inmate assaults, inmate children's issues, medication levels, and the misreporting of incidents by prison authorities. Such poor prison management occurred and continued because of virtually nonexistent parliamentary oversight of the prison, a veil of commercial secrecy that shielded the prison operation from accountability, and the Corrections Corporation of Australia's threat of defamation lawsuits should any accusations be made against its prison operations. Government's addressing of contract breaches by the Corrections Corporation of Australia became so expensive and legalistically complex, that government efforts to reform the prison were deterred. Thus, prison operations became effectively excluded from democratic and reform processes and dynamics. Women inmates and their children were the primary victims of such a system. On Thursday, November 2, 2000, the Victorian government announced a complete buy back of the prison from Corrections Corporation of Australia for $20.2 million.