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PRISON PRIVATIZATION.   Term Paper ID:24345 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Analyzes need for & benefits of this approach to overcrowding. Economics, legal issues, administration, liability, philosophies of punishment, role of govt., public vs. private interest.... More...

25 Pages / 5625 Words 22 sources, 40 Citations, APA Format $100.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Analyzes need for & benefits of this approach to overcrowding. Economics, legal issues, administration, liability, philosophies of punishment, role of govt., public vs. private interest. Paper Introduction: THE QUESTION OF PRISON PRIVATIZATION Issue Definition This study examines the concept of prison privatization with a view toward assessing the acceptability of the concept as a public policy for widespread application in the United States. Both the privatization of public services and the addressing of cost issues associated with prison construction and operation are contentious issues in the United States in the contemporary period. In examining these issues, background information on the issues is provided, key conflicts and concerns are examined, policy alternatives are identified and evaluated, and recommendations are made. Background Information Prison overcrowding and the costs associated with both the construction Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. violations of certain lawsbegan to be referred to as violations of the 'king's peace,' and punishmentinvolved fines to the king rather than restitution" to the victim (Benson,1994, p. Prisons cannotprotect society. With the advent of privatization, the issue becomes,in part, one of how government gets out of the realm of punishment.Privatization is a response to three conditions: soaring inmatepopulations; escalating costs; and, widespread perception that publiccorrections bureaucracies have failed to fulfill its obligation. One approach to the solution of prison capacity that is being adoptedby some jurisdictions is the privatization of corrections (Sechrest &Shichor, 1993). "Initially, the king's peace simplyreferred to the peace of the king's house, but as royal power expanded, theking declared that his peace extended to other places. "Today, rights to many attributesof public policing can be accessed by anyone, as in a common pool, althougheffective public policing still requires a substantial commitment ofprivate resources, including victim and witness cooperation. R. percent, may be expected to be age 55 or older (Newman, Newman,& Gerwitz, 1994). Johnston, V. Since the mid-198 s, theprison population has continued to climb, however, at a slightly reducedrate. For corrections institutions, the interaction ofthese two factors means that bad prison overcrowding is likely to becomesteadily worse unless some policy change is implemented. The practice fell intodisuse when a number of investigations discovered widespread prisonerabuse. In Bender, D. J. Benson, B. When elderly andyounger prisoners are mixed, however, security problems increase as theneed to protect the elderly prisoners from victimization by youngerprisoners escalates. Lengthy andmandatory sentences following in the wake of harsher public attitudestowards all law breakers, however, is exacerbating the problem.Exceptionally long sentences, with little or no probability of parole, meanthat many young persons sentenced to incarceration will grow old in prison. In such situations, there is littleincentive to lower populations of prisons. The risk for society is that private prison companies, whenawarded contracts for medium-security and high-security inmates, willcontinue to skimp on both personnel training and qualifications andfacilities construction as means of enhancing the probability of profits.For society, therefore, the most appropriate inmate classes for theapplication of the prison privatization concept are low-security riskinmates. Private prisons are touted as a way of ameliorating the financialproblems associated with the provision of added cell space. L. Furthermore,the individual was ostracized by the community, and therefore would nothave access to the community's dispute resolution arrangements or otherbenefits of community interaction, such as the gathering of his straycattle, religious rights, trade, etc. The first type is the chronicoffender, who, because of one major sentence or a series of shortersentences, grows old in prison (Newman, Newman, and Gerwitz, 1994). Pursuit and prosecution are muchmore effective, however, if several people cooperate in their production.Cooperation of non-victim witnesses can be essential for prosecution, forexample. The traditional model of providingpublic sector goods, services, due process, and protection is under siege"(Johnston, 1995, p. Sullivan, H. Of this 1.5million, two-thirds were in prisons, while one-third was in jail.Approximately 6 , were on parole, and approximately 2.8 million were onprobation. One philosophical argument offered against privatization is thatimprisonment is an inherently and exclusively governmental function andtherefore should not be performed by the private sector even under contractto the government. Paul, Minnesota: Greenhaven Press. FederalProbation, 51(3), 35-4 . While many people assume that when a state turns over to a privatecompany a function that has traditionally been performed by the state thatthe private company is held to the same constitutional standards as thestate, such may not be the case. Jail privatization and regionalization ofjails. Cooperation is desirable,but if each opportunity for pursuit of an offender is treated as a one-shotgame by victims, witnesses, and others in a position to aid in pursuit andprosecution, then cooperation is unlikely because only the victim gainsfrom the cooperative exchange. There are also those who call attention tothe hazards and pitfalls of reducing accountability "as we increasinglybecome customers and decreasingly slide from traditional citizenshipassurances. Further, as the life span of people in the United States isextended, increasing numbers of elderly people are vigorous individuals, asopposed to being the stereotypical frail elderly person. (1995, Fall). In 1994, the federal and state prison population reached over amillion for the first time, and another 5 , individuals were awaitingtrial or serving sentences in city or county jails (Nadel, 1995). In Mays, G. Within this context, the issue isthe extent to which a private prison operator can be imbued with the rightto determine what punishment will be imposed. An important issue is who--the private prison operator or the state--when the judicial system determines that an inmate's rights have beenviolated. Under privatization, however, inmates willcontinue to have access to the courts, and judges will continue to be ableto intervene in correction operations (DiIulio, 1988). One major legal problem associated with prison privatization is thatprivate prison operators are not required to meet minimum state standardsfor corrections facilities nor are such companies required to staff thesefacilities with personnel that meet the restrictions imposed by state peaceofficer training and standards commissions. Government Printing Office. Private organizations are forced to put thedesires of others ahead of their own convenience if they want to stay inbusiness" (Logan, 1987, p. Economist, 328, 24. A threat of violence underlies any private property rights system ofpunishment. Such policies have notalways worked as intended, however, because some classes of non-violentoffenders--notably drug offenders--were excluded from probation programs.Thus, new prison cells continue to be required in increasing numbers, andno one wants to ask the public to pay for their construction. Prison Research Education Action Project. In the mid-18 s,legislatures in Louisiana, New York, and other states awarded contracts toprivate companies to operate and manage prisons. Journal ofContemporary Criminal Justice, 7(1), 7 . There also is little interestby private prison companies to engage in community corrections programsbecause the profits would be much less than with secure facilities. (1993, September). CovertAction Quarterly, 4-5. Thecustomer-focused efficiency and economy model, represented broadly asentrepreneurial government management, is a very different creature thanthe traditional, legitimate, political, citizen-oriented model based on thepublic interest and public law. Governing, 6, 44-48. Under the monarchical system of government, an ever growing number ofactions were defined as crimes violating the king's peace. Amongthe reasons privatization is opposed by the organization, are thefollowing: that private corrections corporations have clearly indicatedthat cutting staff salary and benefit levels is one way they plan torealize profits, and that further reductions in salary and benefits forcorrections staff would severely hinder the recruitment of competent andqualified professionals into the occupation (American Federation of State,County and Municipal Employees, 1991). (Moser, 1994). Securityproblems in relation to prisoner escape are reduced for such populations incomparison with more typical contemporary populations. Correctional populations in the United States, 1995, Washington:U.S. ... The private operation of prisons for elderly prisoners relievesgovernmental jurisdictions of the responsibility for designing,constructing, and operating corrections institutions that must befundamentally different from contemporary prisons (Scott, 1993). First, the offender is more likely to elude a single pursuer or anonspecialist, and second, the offender is more likely to violently resistan individual than a large group or a specialist (Benson, 1994, pp. The outcome, predictably, was prisonovercrowding. R. In early Anglo-Saxon society, refusal to pay restitution to amember of the community in good standing put the offender outside theprotection of the law. The notion that the profit should not be a motive forpunishment, is a faulty argument. The first issueinvolves the nature of the customer and the applicability of marketdynamics. In the199 s, no politician--federal, state, or local--dares to take any actionthat would permit an opponent to claim that her or she was soft on crime.Similarly, few politicians--federal, state, or local--will publiclyadvocate an increase in taxes, regardless of the purpose for which suchtaxes would be used. Some experts project that the numberof elderly persons in prison in the United States will double every fouryears. Such revenue, however, became anincreasingly important component for at least two reasons. Scott, V. As observed earlier in this study, as Anglo-Saxon kingsconsolidated their power, they recognized that law and law enforcementcould be used as a direct source of royal revenues. S., Newman, D. "Well before theNorman conquest, for instance, ... Private prisons and the public interest. From the mid-197 s through the mid-198 s, the American prisonpopulation increased by 84 percent (Acker, 1993). Unfortunately, itturns out that the vigorous elderly are far more willing to riskincarceration through the commission of antisocial acts than has beengenerally characteristic of the elderly in past years. Governments, then, may deliberately use privatization effectivelyto evade constitutional restraints" (Sullivan, 1989, p. Lastly, there is the health care issue. The growth in theproportion of this type of prisoner in the general prison population is notonly one of the most surprising, it is also one of the strongest growthtrends (Bureau of Criminal Justice Statistics, 1997). The federal Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth-in-Sentencing Lawof 1994, authorized a prison construction grant program. There area number of other second tier companies such as Pricor, U.S. DiIulio, J. H., and Lentz, S. N., Jr. The fourth type is the individual who isfirst sentenced to prison after already reaching the age of 55, and who,thus, is an elderly prisoner from the beginning. In is recommended that prison privatization be restricted to low-security inmate classes. Prison privatization provides a profitabletool for locking up prisoners. Thus, policing was nota public good in medieval England: the primary benefits were private and/orinternal to small groups and non-contributors were excluded. Logan, C. Indeed, kings and theirhouseholds traveled from estate to estate throughout the year, consumingeach estate's output before moving to the next. Indeed, through confiscationof outlaws' property, kings expanded their land holdings, creating newsources of perpetual income (Benson, 1994, p. At issue is that we risk increasing levels of skimming, fraud,lack of competition, and even service interruptions" (Johnston, 1995, p.12). If private correctionscompanies are freed from many of the constitutional constraints placed onpublic institutions, then both they and their government sponsors will befreed from the constant threat of Section 1983 civil rights suits frominmates. In a repeated game, however, acommitment can be made credible if there is a credible potential responseby the other player; that is, if the tit-for-tat response is sufficientpunishment for the cheater" (Benson, 1994, p. Further, refusing to acceptrestitution and seeking physical revenge meant that the initial victimbecame an outlaw. What's wrong with private prisons.Public Interest, 92, 66-83. Among such opponentsare the American Bar Association, the National Sheriffs Association, theAmerican Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, and theAmerican Civil Liberties Union. Private prison operators have a vested interestin expanding the use of incarceration. Newman, E. 277). This increasedwillingness by elderly persons to commit crimes, together with an increasedproportion of elderly persons in the general population, has the effect ofincreasing the proportion of elderly persons in the prison population by afactor which is greater than the population proportion represented by theelderly segment of American society. A third issue involves the legality and constitutionalityof delegating social control functions to private companies. Furthermore, pursuit by the victim alone is less likely tosucceed than pursuit by a large group, or by trained specialists hired by agroup. Jailhouse, Inc. THE QUESTION OF PRISON PRIVATIZATION Issue Definition This study examines the concept of prison privatization with a viewtoward assessing the acceptability of the concept as a public policy forwidespread application in the United States. (Eds.). (Eds.) Privatization andthe provision of correctional services: Context and consequences.Cincinnati, Ohio: Anderson Publishing Co. Public policy alternativeswere addressed in three contexts: (1) the privatization of entirecorrections facilities versus the privatization of functions withincorrections institutions; (2) the privatization of corrections for allclasses of inmates or the privatization of corrections for specific classesof inmates; (3) the equal application of standards of behavior, operation,and constitutional law to both private prison operators and public (states)operators of prisons or the application of less stringent standards toprivate prison operators. A counter argument is that, since all legitimate powersof government are originally, and continuously, delegated by citizens,those same citizens if they wish can specify that certain powers be furtherdelegated by the state, in turn, to private agencies. 39).Philosophies of Punishment Appropriate For A Democratic Society Before English kings began to concentrate and centralize power,individuals had rights to a private benefit arising from successful pursuitand prosecution: victims received restitution. Rated inmate capacities are being exceeded in almost all jailsand both federal and state prisons. (Ed.). (1989, February). The prison privatization gained new life 1 years after theirfirst introduction in the United States. 13). Alexandria, Virginia: National Sheriffs Association. Moser, A. (1987, March). Recommendations This study examined the concept of prison privatization with a viewtoward assessing the acceptability of the concept as a public policy forwidespread application in the United States. A.(1996). Most individuals "are involved in variouslong-term relationships, so they are in a repeated-game setting with finitebut uncertain horizons, and when each individual has some probability ofbeing a victim at some point, then cooperation becomes possible .... toreport crimes, of course (Benson, 1994, p. Journalof Criminal Justice, 21(1), 91-93. Basically, a state may delegatecertain rights but it cannot absolve itself of those rights and duties"(Chaires & Lentz, 1996, p. J., & Gerwitz, M. 75). The potential for taxation was modest. St. Violations of theking's peace required payment to the king, so the expansion in places andtimes protected by the king's peace meant greater potential for revenue(Benson, 1994, p. For the correctional officersresponsible for the administration of prisons, and the maintenance ofprisoner welfare, the increase in the proportion of violent offendershoused in the nation's correctional facilities has created a nightmarishsituation with respect to control, preservation of order, and maintenanceof safety for both prisoners and prison staff. outlawry began to involve forfeiture ofgoods to the king. Corrections,Concepts, Inc., and Correction Management Affiliates. (1993, May). Privatization of corrections and theconstitutional rights of prisoners. A final argument is that private companies will bedriven by profit and, as a result, be tempted to put their own welfareahead of the welfare of inmates, the needs of the state, and the interestsof justice. H. One outcome of all of this activity were new sentencing guidelinesthat mandated prison time for more types of offenses and which alsolengthened prison stays ("Latchkey lags," 1993). The fastest growing segment of the general population in the UnitedStates is the age 55 and older segment. (1993, March). 281). Further, private contractorsneed not react to community pressures for maintaining constitutionalcorrections facilities because such firms are not required to stand forelection (Moser, 1994). In Mays, G. Latchkey lags. The foregoing narrative explains generally how government entered therealm of punishment. Organizational accountability actuallyseems to shift ... Private prisons: Profits of crime. "Byfar the largest component of royal income came from the king's landholdings, but this income was largely in the form of agricultural produce,which could not easily be transported or sold. "Theseare the tradeoffs involved in expediently adopting the more efficient andbusinesslike model based on efficiency. L., & Gray, T. If, however,private prison operators are held to a lower standard of behavior than thatimposed on government, inmate rights likely will suffer. More significantly, ... To qualify forgrants, states must follow truth-in-sentencing requirements, including therequirement that violent offenders serve 85 percent of their sentences.Meeting the requirements will be expensive--estimates of prisonconstruction costs range from $8 , -to-$1 , per cell, while operatingcosts are estimated at $2 , -to-$25, per inmate per year (Nadel,1995). Three sets of such conflicts and concernsare discussed. A number of issues need to be clarified in the debate overprivatization of prisons. Background Information Prison overcrowding and the costs associated with both theconstruction and the operation of prisons have developed as major publicissues over the past two decades (Lemov, 1993). Victims' rights must be curbed. Per 1 thousandpopulation, the increase was from 129 to 216. It was found that, as a general rule, (1) functions as opposed toentire corrections facilities, should be considered for the delivery ofservices through private prison contractors, and (2) specific classes ofprisoners, as opposed to all inmate classes should be considered for thedelivery of services through private prison contractors. "Prisons and money." America, 164, 516-519. While the crime rate increased, and the demand forprison space increased, prison capacity remained relatively steady. "If guilty, hanging or mutilation and exile,plus forfeitures of all goods to the crown were typical punishments; if theaccused was found innocent, the plaintiff was heavily amerced for falseaccusation. The community widethreat of outlawry and physical revenge generally induced the reluctantoffender to pay and the victim to accept the payment. Some legal considerations inprison privatization. Some jurisdictions, in attempting to deal with the problem of prisonovercrowding, adopted liberal probation in lieu of incarceration policiesfor adult non-violent offenders (Scott, 1993). corporation) or a private employeeactually a government agent (a 'state actor') and did the government know,or should have known, that the private entity was violating or prone toviolate an inmate right or privilege? With respect to the profit motive, however, the issue is not clear cutby any means. In examining these issues, background informationon the issues is provided, key conflicts and concerns are examined, policyalternatives are identified and evaluated, and recommendations are made. (1994). The concern thatprivate companies would cut services to inmates as a way to save money wasborne out in operation in Texas. "Outlawry implied that physical attacks on the outlawwere legal and the potential for a 'blood-feud' arose. Thus, if no other relevant factorschanged, and increase in the proportion of elderly persons in the prisonpopulation could reasonably be anticipated in coming years. Ofcourse, there were also common benefits to policing, such as localizeddeterrence, so individuals living in the area might benefit even if theyrefused to cooperate in policing or other kinds of team production.Indeed, these associations also produced other benefits common to the groupas a whole, such as road maintenance as explained below, but cooperation inthe production of such common benefits was an investment in reputation thatallowed the individuals to consume the important team-produced privatebenefits as well. Of this total number, wellin excess of one-and-one-half million were incarcerated. "Systems of accountability become red tape.Marketing instruments such as customer-based forms, groups, and surveysemerge and increasingly manifest themselves in our daily lives. In 1995, nearly five-million persons (2.2 percent of the adultpopulation of the United States) were under correctional supervision(Bureau of Criminal Justice Statistics, 1997). Are public goods really common pools?Considerations of the evolution of policing and highways in England.Economic Inquiry, 32(2), 249-271. Mays, G. Royal profits from justice probably only a small component of totalincome for Anglo-Saxon kings. it would be possible for royalofficers such as sheriffs to proclaim the king's peace wherever suitable.Even included were festivals and special occasions. (1988, Summer). (1993). Anderson, G. It is the application ofrelaxed standards to private prison operators that causes corrections to beattractive as a business opportunity to the private sector. This factor in itself will cause the proportion of elderly prisoners toincrease. K., & Shichor, D. Corrections goespublic in California. Problems also arise in the area of decision making for disciplinarypurposes within a corrections facility. The Texas Department of Corrections Boardof Criminal Justice severely criticized four private prisons for neglectingvocational and educational programs intended to prepare inmates for returnto the community (Anderson, 1991). A third argument concerns thefear that private contractors will not provide justice and due process toinmates. Instead, the important issues are whenand to what extent privatization will occur (Mays, 1996, p. 13). Another argument isthat someone in any prison will need authority to use force, includingpotentially deadly force in emergencies. Therefore, elderly prisoners more so than mostprisoners tend to have some money available to pay for health services.Considering the increased costs associated with providing health care tosuch prisoners, the imposition of user fees appears to many people to bejustified (Newman, Newman, & Gerwitz, 1994). In other words, policing is not a public good today either: its publiclyproduced aspects are generally treated as free-access common pools andprivate individuals underinvest in their maintenance" (Benson, 1994, p.261). While the politicianswere getting tough on crime, however, the politicians and citizens-from thefederal level right on down to local politicians and citizens voting inbond elections--neglected in some cases and refused in more cases toincrease spending on incarceration facilities at the levels required tomeet the increasing demand. The contemporary institutional arrangement for criminal law, whereinindividuals have common access to police services and criminals arepunished by the state, is not the only institutional arrangement that ispossible for the production of law enforcement. Government Printing Office. A very different set ofinstitutions evolved as a consequence. Underthese circumstances, individuals may have incentives to voluntarily'exchange' obligations to support one another in pursuit and prosecution.Of course, if individuals can express a willingness to cooperate and obtainbenefits from the cooperative arrangements but then not actuallyreciprocate when called upon, such an arrangement will either fail todevelop or break down if established. San Diego, California: GreenhavenPress, Inc., pp. (1991, 11 May). It is increasingly likely that the replacement of the traditionalgovernment service delivery model, with the citizen as consumer, will beneither clean nor clear. It is recommendedthat specific functions within medium-security and high-securitycorrections facilities be contracted to private companies where the privatedelivery of such services will be equal to or higher than governmentdelivered services with respect to quality and quantity, while costinggovernment less than would be the case if such services were governmentdelivered. Criminal justice. (1996). Most ofthe prison construction activity is occurring at the state level. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees takesthe position that private ownership and operation of correctionalfacilities is not the answer to the current crisis in corrections. However, what motivates many public agencies, includingprisons, is convenience. Physical retribution against an outlaw became theresponsibility of the entire community. (1993, Fall). Eventually, ... American City and County, 1 8(3), 32D-33D. The reasons for the increased costs ofhousing older prisoners is associated with the increased needs of olderpersons for medical care of all types, for critical care for such diseasesand conditions as heart problems, cancer, stroke, and emphysema, which aremore prevalent among older persons than among younger persons, and specialmaintenance needs, such as diets, eye glasses, and so forth (Newman,Newman, & Gerwitz, 1994). This further reduced the incentives of crime victims ... America's prisons: Opposingviewpoints. citizens.Public Manager: New Bureaucrat, 24(3), 11-14. Federal Bureau of Investigation. References Acker, J. Department of Justice(1997). The increase in violentcrime in the United States in the 197 s and 198 s, together a pleabargaining process that often appeared to favor offenders, led to publicoutcries to "get tougher on crime." Both President Reagan and PresidentBush tapped this vein of public discontent by successfully, ifinaccurately, labeling their opponents as being soft on crime. (1993). Policing was carried out by neighborhoodassociations and free riding did not appear to be a problem because anyonewho did not cooperate was ostracized by the group. 39).Issues Involving the Public Interest Versus the Profit Interest As the customer model replaces the citizen model in terms of consuminggovernment services, a variety of public sector professional groups andorganizations have raised their voices in opposition. These issues include: the extent to whichprivatization will be used and under what circumstances; recognition thatprofit may be a motivation behind correctional programs; the need to acceptthat the private sector may only provide more cost efficiency, but withprograms no better or worse than the public sector; concern over thequality and training of personnel employed in privately operatedfacilities; liability and litigation. (1995, January). Directionand control of public expenditures and of the government itself becomesdecentralized, with stronger connections to contractors and suppliers.Reengineering work and programs, and adjusting processes and priorities,increasingly become a way of life (Johnston, 1995, p. Elderly prisoners frequently receive socialsecurity benefits. Although some private prison companies propose to indemnifygoverning bodies (hold them harmless for any litigation costs and judgmentsfor violations of inmates legal rights), it is nevertheless the legalresponsibility of government to ensure the constitutional rights of inmates(Moser, 1994). Thus, in 2 ,based on these projections, a total of 1,6 6, will likely beincarcerated in the United States, of which approximately 16 , , oralmost 1 . TheNational Association of Counties notes that the typical contract betweenprivate prison corporation and a governmental agency includes the guaranteeof a minimum number of inmates. AmericanCity and County, 11 (1), 26. Questions alsoarise over labor law, use of force, inmate discipline, and risk ofbankruptcy by a private prison company (Moser, 1994). The cost of non-cooperation washigh, even though exclusion may not have been possible for some commonaccess benefits such as road use, and perhaps deterrence (Benson, 1994, pp.278-279). 275-276). Lemov, P. We are also likely to face a re-evaluation of our positions and processes regarding safetyresponsibilities, legal rights and processes, and political issues as thecitizen is increasingly transformed into the customer" (Johnston, 1995, p.12). Correctional privatization: Defining the issuesand searching for answers. Smith, P. The stereotype of the imprisoned person as poor, of minority origin,and young (Prison Research Education Action Project, 1993) remainsgenerally true. In Szumski, B. L.,& Leone, B. Among the most critical issues are (1) whether agovernment can delegate its power to punish to private companies and (2)who will be liable for violations of inmates' civil rights. Most prisons simply are not prepared to providegeriatric health care. (Eds.). The focus should be on theprocedures that will "best protect the due process rights of inmatesregardless of whether they are applied by government employees or bycontracted agents. 281). (1996). American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. This lack of liquiditycontrasts sharply with fines collected through the king's evolving legalfunctions. J., Jr. An individual might be able to successfully pursue an offenderalone, and even extract restitution if he was stronger than the offender,but without the backing of the community, this was relatively unlikely. Lastly, it is recommended that all private prison companies berequired to post a bond equal to the cost of the corrections facility andoperational costs for three years to protect society in the event ofbankruptcy. Uniform crime reports.Washington: U.S. Position on contracting out correctional facilities. This individual will alsogrow old in prison. Further, therelaxed standards, as opposed to the supposed operating efficiencies of theprivate sector, are the primary source of differences in operating costsbetween public and private providers of corrections services. The problem withthis approach, however, lies with politicians who pander to public concernsover law violators while refusing to confront the voting public with acomprehensive assessment of the relationship between increasedincarceration and prison construction costs. There also is thepotential philosophical issue that these companies will lobby forlegislation that would increase their business by incarcerating moreindividuals (Smith, 1993). The increase in the proportion of elderly prisoners,however, is rapidly changing the profile of the typical prisoner, and thestereotype of that prisoner will likely be completely out of date by 2 .Four types of incarcerated persons account for the growth in the elderlysegment in the American prison population. First, suchincome was relatively liquid. Federal Probation, 57(3), 3-8. From the mid-197 s until around 1994, the rate of both violent crimeand property crime in the United States escalated (Federal Bureau ofInvestigation, 1996). It was foundfurther that, in all instances, private prison companies should be heldaccountable to the same legal and philosophical standards as are applied togovernment providers of corrections services. It is recommended that those legal andphilosophical standards applied to government providers of correctionsservices be applied to all private prison companies. It is simply easier forpoliticians to turn blind eyes to legal and philosophical concerns in orderto obtain more cell space at lower direct costs to public treasuries.While such a strategy is easier for the politicians, however, does not meanthat this approach is best for society.All Inmates Versus Specific Inmate Classes Private prison companies typically prefer to operate prisons forminimum-security inmates. 28 ). By servicing such inmates, the private companiescan get by with less qualified corrections personnel and less costly prisonfacilities. Such exploitation hasoccurred in the past experience of the United States with prisonprivatization. (1994, April). Second, marginal changes in royal revenue could be maderelatively easily by mandating changes in the law, in the form ofextensions of the king's peace to other offenses, and increasing the bite,as compared to most other sources of revenue. First it wasapplied to places where the king traveled, then to churches, monasteries,highways, and bridges. Both the privatization ofpublic services and the addressing of cost issues associated with prisonconstruction and operation are contentious issues in the United States inthe contemporary period. One inmate class that is particularly appropriate for privateprison operators is the growing elderly segment of the prison population inthe United States. A second issue involves thepotential for possible exploitation of inmates. These sets are (1) conflicts involving constitutional andstatutory law, (2) philosophies of punishment appropriate for a democraticsociety, and (3) issues involving the public interest versus the profitinterest.Conflicts Involving Constitutional and Statutory Law Privatization of prisons and jails raises several of legal andconstitutional questions. to the customer. Otherpoliticians, particularly at the state level, jumped on the tough on crimebandwagon. Chaires, R. 28 ). The third type is the individual first sentenced toprison in middle-age, for whom even a moderate sentence will result in theindividual growing old in prison. Asindicated in the "Background Information" section of this study, there alsois the concern that private companies would apply political pressure toensure that their facilities were filled to capacity. A counter argument is that this problem can be overcome byensuring that the requirements of due process are built into the conditionsof the private prison operator's contract. The privatization approach is being promoted to anincreasing number of jurisdictions as the wave of the future incorrections. That is, if an accused offender is determined tobe guilty of violations of some victim's rights, the 'punishment' isrestitution in the form of a fine or indemnity to be paid to the victim.Furthermore, as is generally the case with tort law, assume that theaggrieved party must pursue prosecution. Liabilities surrounding prison privatization can be classified intothree major areas: inmates' rights, commercial liability, and contractualliability. Policy Alternatives Policy alternatives with respect to the privatization of prisons areconsidered within the contexts of the following issues: (1) theprivatization of entire corrections facilities versus the privatization offunctions within corrections institutions; (2) the privatization ofcorrections for all classes of inmates or the privatization of correctionsfor specific classes of inmates; (3) the equal application of standards ofbehavior, operation, and constitutional law to both private prisonoperators and public (states) operators of prisons or the application ofless stringent standards to private prison operators.Entire Facilities Versus Functions Arguably the best approach from legal, philosophical, and economicperspectives is the privatization of functions within correctionsfacilities wherein private contractors can deliver services of equal orcomparable quality as those provided by government providers at lower coststhan services can be delivered by government providers. Since1994, crime rates have moderated slightly; however, the rate ofincarceration has not slowed. Not all people, however, are supportive of the prisonprivatization concept (Munster, 1993). (1991,11 May). Thesecond type is the individual who enters prison at an age under 3 , and whohas been sentenced to a long mandatory term. Privateprison operators are in a position to serve elderly prisoner populationsmore efficiently and with higher levels of service than is the generalpublicly-operated prison.Uniform Versus Relaxed Application of Legal and Philosophical Standards The application of legal and philosophical standards to private prisonoperators that mirror those standards applied to government providers ofcorrections services likely would cause many, perhaps most, private prisonoperators to withdraw from the corrections scene. L. (3rd ed.). New York: Oelgeschlager, Gunn & Hain. Several major issues are involved in thegreater use of profit-making agencies in corrections. The concept of the "King's peace" traces directly to Anglo-Saxon lawin the sense that every freeman's house had a "peace." If that peace wasbroken, the violator had to pay. Many citizens, scholars, and practitioners, however, worry aboutpolitical accountability, "especially in light of all the customersatisfaction oriented reengineering, reinventing, and empowerment. Governmental jurisdictionsat all levels, thus, either must find ways to increase prison and jailcapacity or new policies must be implemented to ameliorate the situation. "An issue that is not relevant iswhether or not to privatize, as most correctional programs rely to someextent on private sector services. (1993, 28 August). Caveat emptor: Customers vs. A counter argument is that it isthe law, not the civil status of an actor, that determines whether anyparticular exercise of force is legitimate. 111-117. Key Conflicts and Concerns There are a multitude of conflicts and concerns associated with theconcept of prison privatization. The customer (inmate) is an involuntary recipient of serviceswho cannot shop around for better services. criminalization tookaway the private right to restitution and reduced the incentive tovoluntarily cooperate in law enforcement. (Eds.) Privatizationand the provision of correctional services: Context and consequences.Cincinnati, Ohio: Anderson Publishing Co. Oneconsequence of the development of monarchical government was the creationof criminal law as a source of government revenues. "To see this, assume thatthe rules of law now considered as crimes against persons or property arein the nature of torts. Private prisons are not a new phenomenon. The aging of prison populations is a significant issue for bothcorrections officials and politicians because it costs about three times asmuch to house (in prison) and inmate age 55 and older as it does to housean inmate age 54 or younger. In fact, if someone was reputed to be uncooperative ...,he would be a relatively attractive target, and probably would have beenvictimized more often than" other members of the community. A two part testfor finding the government liable for the acts of private vendors emerges.Is the private legal entity (i.e. As the market-based customer model grows, there may also be majorconcerns about constitutional, managerial, and ethical problems. The United States Supreme Court'sapproach to the state action doctrine in recent years "has raised thethreshold of state involvement that is required before constitutionalrestraints apply to ostensibly private conduct. Although somestudies indicate that private companies can and do operate correctionalfacilities more cheaply than public agencies, there are questionsconcerning the quality of the service provided. Bureau of Criminal Justice Statistics, U.S. The contrastbetween criminal and civil causes developed, with criminal causes referringto offenses that generated revenues for the king or the sheriffs ratherthan payment to the victim. (1993). Many people, agencies, and entities makeprofits from prisons. Opponents of prison privatization claim that inmates rights will betrampled by privatization. Furthermore, andimportantly, someone who did not cooperate would not have access to such athreat. Individuals never know if they will be the victim of an offense in thefuture, but they assign some positive probability to being victimized.Furthermore, an individual does not know whether an offender will bephysically, politically or economically strong enough to resist theindividual's efforts to apprehend and prosecute. L., and Gray, T. Putting a lock on prison costs. One effect of the interaction of thesetrends has been a shift in the prison population toward a much higherproportion of violent crime offenders. Nadel, B. 176). The finalissue concerns the need for private companies to maximize their profits.This need raises the possibility of increased long term costs as privatefirms become entrenched in corrections and skim the best clients (inmates),who are cheaper and easier to incarcerate. It is such relaxed standardsthat enable private prison operators to achieve the cost efficiencies thatare used to justify prison privatization. They have a stake in maintainingretribution as a guiding principle rather than rehabilitation, because itis easier and cheaper to attain. M. Incentivesfor individuals to underinvest in the commons are substantial relative toincentives to invest in the production of any private benefits that remain. The growth in private corrections companies has caused concern. "Based on an analysis of immunity law, it is apparent thatlitigation surrounding privatization is very complex and that there may benumerous claims based on several theories of liability. (1994). Sechrest, D. Propriety of proprietary prisons. Although the general prison population will also grow, its rate ofgrowth is projected at only about 8.5 percent per year. Elderlycriminals. Federal Probation, 53(2), 36-42. Effective collection ofrestitution required the cooperation of witnesses, and of neighbors to aidin pursuit; but anyone who did not cooperate with victims could not obtainsimilar support when victimized, and therefore could be excluded from thisbenefit of law enforcement. The two major companies in theprivate prison business are Wackenhut (a highly diversified corporationthat is most active in private security operations) and CorrectionsCorporation of America (which specializes in corrections only). The emphasis on prison construction is a result of a national trendtoward tougher laws and longer sentences for those convicted of violentcrimes. One of the most serious of the problems faced by elderly prisonersinvolves health care. Munster, A. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.