Private Prisons Research Articles

AN ANALYSIS OF COSTS OF PRIVATE PRISONS AGAINST PUBLIC PRISONS IN SOUTH AFRICA

This paper examines the costs, benefits, accountability, and human rights implications of private against public prisons in South Africa. The rationale is to determine which investment model between the two (public and private) is most economically viable as expressed in quantitative and financial terms. As such, the positive gains of the cost-benefit analysis should provide guidance in maintaining any prison model. The methodology that the study followed is Qualitative Systematic Archival Article Review. Data was collected through global and local archives, coded and analysed through triangulation, thematic and content analysis. This process was followed to establish robust themes and insights regarding the subject matter thereby enhancing rigor, reliability, and validity of the results. Consequently, the study noted that public prisons provide more value than private prisons in South Africa at this moment because of astronomical costs and human rights abuses associated with private prisons compared to public prisons. However, private prisons exhibit better maintenance as they provide improved living conditions for their smaller inmates’ population unlike public prisons. The study recommends that there should be robust training, strict monitoring, phased and gradual implementation of private prisons in South Africa. There should also be continuous evaluation of private prisons to ensure that they comply with government regulations.

Beyond profit: A model framework for ethical and feasible private prison labour

In response to increased interest from states and companies as well as momentum on the issue of private prison labour in the past few decades, this article offers a comprehensive model framework aimed at reconciling profit-driven objectives with prisoner rehabilitation. The article addresses the debate surrounding prison labour for private for-profit entities and proposes a model that attempts to remedy some of the issues and criticisms that arise from the practice. Drawing on the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) of the International Labour Organisation, the framework integrates certain provisions from the standard, emphasising public supervision, consent and labour guarantees. Equally, it tries to address concerns of unfair competition and job displacement while promoting ‘meaningful' work and encouraging post-release employment of prisoners. Recognising the need for some practical feasibility and in a bid to shift the incentives for private entities to employ prisoners, from ‘cheap’ labour to fairer work practices, the model argues that other benefits such as tax breaks or subsidies may help align private and rehabilitative goals. As governments have turned to the private sector to increase work opportunities for prisoners, this paper argues that a more equitable and rehabilitative approach should follow, representative of societal values.

Privatization as bureaucratization

Contemporary prison privatization has been the focus of many studies. While most research mainly looks at political factors and practical results, few have explored the organizational impact of outsourcing. Despite privatization being often seen as a sign of liberalization and deregulation, this article uses the French prison privatization example to highlight the connection between privatization and bureaucratization. Based on observation and interviews, this study makes three claims. First, it argues that prison privatization is a changing relationship between public and private sectors, leading to controversy over private accountability. Second, it suggests that outsourcing contracts create a new layer of law with public compliance officers becoming a new form of legal oversight. Third, it shows how these controllers enforce contract terms in their own interest, resulting in an adversarial legal culture between public and private services. The article concludes by suggesting a fresh approach to studying privatization using qualitative methods.

The End of Public/Private Partnership Prisons in the Department of Correctional Services of South Africa

South Africa has two fully privatised prisons, each housing some 3,000 prisoners. Their history has been mired in controversy from the start, and this has not improved over a period of nearly 25 years. Recent events affecting the security and integrity of the two facilities provide a useful opportunity to reflect on these private prisons as well as wider issues regarding private sector involvement in the prison system. The intersection of politics, organised labour, private sector interests, and corruption have in all likelihood rung the death knell for private prisons in South Africa.

From Private Prisons to Private Detention: Visualizing the Business of Immigration Enforcement

From Private Prisons to Private Detention: Visualizing the Business of Immigration Enforcement

Anodyne Privatization

Privatization of state services has been a flashpoint for political conflict over the past several decades. The goal of this paper is to explain why someone who is a supporter of the welfare state might also support the privatization of certain state services, in certain cases. Recent philosophical literature has focused on the most problematic privatization initiatives, especially the introduction of private prisons and military contractors. As a counterpoint, this paper describes a set of anodyne privatizations, understood as privatizations that no reasonable person could object to. The key step in this analysis involves showing that privatization is not a unitary phenomenon. There are different types of privatization, different degrees of privatization, and also different motives for privatization. There are also important normative differences between these initiatives, which might lead a reasonable person to support some but not others.

Captive Market: Accountability and State Prison Privatization. By Anna Gunderson. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022. 208p. $99.00 cloth, $27.95 paper.

Captive Market: Accountability and State Prison Privatization. By Anna Gunderson. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022. 208p. $99.00 cloth, $27.95 paper.

Privatized jails: Comparing individuals' safety in private and public jails

An estimated 5.4% of individuals in United States jails are in private facilities. While our knowledge about jail experiences and private prisons has grown in recent years, little is known about the private jail experience. Jail stays are often assumed to be a less severe punishment; however, transient and diverse populations and limited investments in treatment and programming suggest jails may be particularly unsafe. The current study uses the 2011–12 National Inmate Survey to compare how individuals' perceive and experience safety while incarcerated in public and private jails. A quasi-experimental approach is taken using propensity scores to match individuals in private jails to those in public facilities based on demographics, past experiences, and incarceration measures. The findings suggest that individuals in private jails perceived these facilities as less safe compared their public counterparts. Respondents in private jails reported higher levels of gang activity in their facility, more had belongings stolen while detained, and fewer individuals believed the facility was adequately staffed or that corrections officers ended fights quickly. This study highlights harms experienced in both public and private jails and underscores a need for more research on the private jail experience.

Are Private Prisons Intrinsically Wrong? An Analysis

Several critics have argued that private prisons are not only problematic because of their worse effects but also intrinsically wrong. This article analyzes two prominent arguments for this claim: the representation argument and the condemnation argument. The conclusion is that these arguments fail to show that there is something intrinsically wrong about private prisons. This is especially true if the arguments are extended to non-profit private prisons under social injustice contexts that states are responsible for. In such cases, non-profit private prisons might not only be on a par with public prisons but be preferable to them. However, the arguments are also insufficient to oppose every conceivable for-profit private prison.

The Fulfillment of Prisoners' Rights by Establishing Private Prisons as an Alternative to Prisoner Development is Reviewed from Law Number 22 of 2022 Concerning Corrections

The problem of prisons in Indonesia has not been resolved until now. There are 3 (three) main problems to date, namely, Overcrowded Prisoners, Lack of Human Resources in Prisons and Large Costs. This greatly affects the rights of prisoners themselves, where the rights of prisoners have been regulated both in International (Standard minimum Rules For The Treatment Of Prisoner) and National provisions (Law Number 22 of 2022 concerning Corrections). This research aims to answer legal problems regarding how the government has been managing prisons and private prisons as an alternative solution to the problems of prisons in Indonesia. To answer the research problem, this study uses a type of normative legal research with a legal approach, concepts and comparisons. The data used are secondary data supported by primary, secondary and tertiary legal materials obtained through literature research or document studies. The results of this study show that in managing prisons, legally Indonesia has made significant improvements and more implemented the human rights system by changing the orientation of retaliation to coaching prisoners. However, in its implementation, the Indonesian government still finds it difficult to implement these noble intentions and until now there are 3 (three) major problems that have not been addressed, namely Overcrowded Prisoners, Lack of Human Resources in Prisons and Large Costs. To be able to implement these noble intentions, there is an alternative solution, namely the implementation of private prisons with the Public Private Partnership system or Hybrid System where this system has been successfully applied in France and produces efficiency for the state

Advancing Justice: Addressing the Impacts of Private Prisons

Prisons play a multifaceted role within American society and their portrayal in various forms of media, serving as potent symbols of justice, punishment, and rehabilitation. The prevailing narrative surrounding the US criminal justice system emphasizes that prisons have a dual purpose: to serve as places of retribution for offenders and simultaneously provide avenues for reform, reintegration, and eventually successful reentry into society. Nevertheless, as the complex nature of the criminal justice system unravels, concerns have emerged regarding the increasing influence of financial interests in private prisons. This economic trend raises apprehensions about the potential detrimental impact on rehabilitation efforts and its contribution to the persistently high incarceration rates. Critics argue that when financial gain becomes the primary focus of prisons' operations, inmates' well-being and prospects may be compromised. The profit-driven nature of private prisons may prioritize cost-cutting measures over providing necessary resources for rehabilitation programs, mental health support, educational opportunities, and vocational training.

Do Private Prisons Affect Criminal Sentencing?

Do Private Prisons Affect Criminal Sentencing?

Testing the job demands – resources model to explain organizational trust among private prison staff

Two major forms of organizational trust are supervisor trust and management trust. Guided by the job demand-resources model, this exploratory study examined how the job demand variables of role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload, and fear of being victimized at work and the job resource variables of instrumental communication, job autonomy, job variety, and quality training were linked to both forms of organizational trust among staff at a private U.S. prison. Results showed that workplace variables predicted both types of trust and were generally stronger predictors than personal attributes. Moreover, resources played a greater role than job demands in shaping both supervisor and management trust. Among the demands, only role conflict was a significant negative predictor of supervisor trust and management trust. Instrumental communication, job autonomy, and job variety were significant positive predictors of supervisor trust. Job autonomy and job variety both had significant positive associations with management trust.

Anna Gunderson: Review of Captive Markets. Accountability and State Prison Privatization

Anna Gunderson: Review of <i>Captive Markets. Accountability and State Prison Privatization</i>

Neoliberal Penal Policy and Prison Privatization

The paper analyzes the relationship between neoliberal penalty transformation and prison privatization as part of neoliberal market reform. The neoliberal political and economic project characterized by deregulation, individualization, privatization, and commodification has introduced competition, entrepreneurship, and economic efficiency in areas that previously belonged exclusively to the public sector. The alleged need for greater efficiency has led to an increase in private prisons, and the results of this transformation have shown that it is more about achieving economic efficiency at the expense of quality, competencies, and outcomes of services provided in this sector. In this paper, the starting assumption is that the increase in the number of private prisons does not imply the withdrawal of the state concerning the market. In contrast, it raises the question of the regulatory role of the neoliberal state that enables the market of new fields for profit. As a consequence of the tightening of penal policy, mass incarceration is a mechanism for resolving social conflicts caused by the transformation of social policy. Therefore, private prisons are aimed at making a profit by reflecting the spread of neoliberal rationality throughout society. Withdrawal of assistance and support from the social sector and transfer of exclusive responsibility from the social to the individual responsibility of prisoners as rational neoliberal subjects lead to a reduction of rehabilitation goals. In the context of prison privatization, this transformation leads to turning prisoners into a means of earning or cheap labor.

ЗАРУБІЖНИЙ ДОСВІД ФУНКЦІОНУВАННЯ ПЕНІТЕНЦІАРНИХ СИСТЕМ: ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ ВДОСКОНАЛЕННЯ ЗАКОНОДАВСТВА УКРАЇНИ

The article analyzes advanced practices of the functioning of penitentiary systems in foreign countries. Attention was focused on such aspects as: the expediency of using deprivation of liberty as the main form of punishment, the types of institutions for the execution of punishment, the functioning of state and private institutions of deprivation of liberty and the expediency of introducing a similar practice in Ukraine, professional training of personnel of institutions of deprivation of liberty. In particular, it was established that such type of punishment as deprivation of liberty is not an effective measure, as there is a probability of repeated crimes. This led to the analysis of the experience of applying criminal punishments associated with deprivation of liberty in those foreign countries where recidivism after release has a fairly low share of all crime. Due to repeated statements about the creation of private prisons in Ukraine, special attention was paid to this issue. Countries where the practice of private prisons has already been tested (USA, Great Britain, Australia) were taken as an example, and issues that should be paid special attention to when introducing this institution in our country were summarized. Taking into account the fact that the personnel of the penal institutions are constantly in contact with the convicted person due to the performance of their official duties, the issue of his professional training is highlighted as important. In this aspect, the preparation for the humanization of personnel education and the technology of combining theory and practice with the introduction of progressive experience of penitentiary activity deserve further analysis and implementation. It is clear that it is impossible to fully borrow foreign experience in the application of deprivation of liberty and serving a sentence, but the isolated issues must be taken into account when implementing progressive practices into national legislation. Key words: penitentiary system; criminal law; execution of punishments; convicts; probation; institutions of execution of punishments; national legislation; implementation.

Amplifying Stigmatization: Owlcatraz and the naming of a football stadium

While organizational stigma has emerged as an important and vibrant area of study, yet the processes of stigmatization have not been as thoroughly examined. Specifically, this study explores the subsequent, ongoing stigmatization processes beyond stigma emergence that are triggered by stigma transfer. To do so, we draw on a qualitative case study of an American university selling the naming rights of its newly built football stadium to a company that runs for-profit prisons with a history of human rights violations. We find that the stigma transfer through an exposed association can lead to amplifying stigmatization of both the source and target organizations, featuring a reverberation process fueled by both rhetorical and material stigmatizing practices. Even after the stigmatizing association ceased, stigmatization of the target organization, though muffled, lingered and required further management. Through developing a model of amplifying and muffling stigmatization after stigma transfer, we offer contributions to scholarship on ongoing stigmatization and stigma transfer. We also open the opportunity to understand the temporal dimensions of stigmatization.

Can the privatization of prisons solve the crisis of the prison system in Peru?

Can the privatization of prisons solve the crisis of the prison system in Peru?

Heat-related mortality in U.S. state and private prisons: A case-crossover analysis.

Rising temperatures and heatwaves increase mortality. Many of the subpopulations most vulnerable to heat-related mortality are in prisons, facilities that may exacerbate temperature exposures. Yet, there is scare literature on the impacts of heat among incarcerated populations. We analyzed data on mortality in U.S. state and private prisons from 2001-2019 linked to daily maximum temperature data for the months of June, July, and August. Using a case-crossover approach and distributed lag models, we estimated the association of increasing temperatures with total mortality, heart disease-related mortality, and suicides. We also examined the association with extreme heat and heatwaves (days above the 90th percentile for the prison location) and assessed effect modification by personal, facility, and regional characteristics. There were 12,836 deaths during summer months. The majority were male (96%) and housed in a state-operated prison (97%). A 10°F increase was associated with a 5.2% (95% CI: 1.5%, 9.0%) increase in total mortality and a 6.7% (95% CI: -0.6%, 14.0%) increase in heart disease mortality. The association between temperature and suicides was delayed, peaking around lag 3 (exposure at three days prior death). Two- and three-day heatwaves were associated with increased total mortality of 5.5% (95% CI: 0.3%, 10.9%) and 7.4% (95% CI: 1.6%, 13.5%), respectively. The cumulative effect (lags 1-3) of an extreme heat day was associated with a 22.8% (95% CI: 3.3%, 46.0%) increase in suicides. We found the greatest increase in mortality among people ≥ 65 years old, incarcerated less than one year, held in the Northeast region, and in urban or rural counties. These findings suggest that warm temperatures are associated with increased mortality in prisons, yet this vulnerable population's risk has largely been overlooked.

Captive Market: Accountability and State Prison Privatization - By Anna Gunderson . New York City: Oxford University Press, 2022. pp. 208, $27.95 Paper.

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