Privatization of American Prisons - 1661 Words

Introduction: In America today, there is a trend in corrections of taking the duty of running prisons out of the hands of state and federal authorities and contracting it out to private organizations. Along with the drift to privatization is a plethora of research pertaining to the subject taking many different approaches to analyzing the effectiveness. The majority of research focuses on one of three areas. The first questioning whether or not it is cost effective to make the switch. The second being the ethical problems that can and have risen from the privatization of prisons. The third being a wide painting of the change and the implications it has on society as a whole. When the changes came about, there were an excessive amount of†¦show more content†¦In this form, nongovernmental entities own, staff, and operate correctional facilities. (Austin, 2001) Financial Cost/benefit of privatization: The bulk of the research was performed in the late 90s after many years had passed since the implementation of privatized prisons got a substantial boost in1988 (Austin, 2001). Much of the literature centers on the cost effectiveness of contracting out prisons. The main focus of the research is first and foremost, are they saving money by contracting out. Second, if they are saving money, is it enough money to justify the other problems that naturally accompany the for profit prisons model. It is important to understand what it means to contract correctional institutions out to private ownership. Most of the current prisons that have been contracted out run on a similar contract. A private entity either builds a prison to house inmates or is given control of an already built prison. The private corporation is then paid a base dollar amount for each prisoner they house in the facility. In 2001, Emerging issues on privatized prisons found many s triking statistics concerning the privatization of prisons. It is estimated that worldwide there were 184 privately operated correctional facilities. Within the United States, a total of 158 private correctional facilities are operating. A substantial portion of the worlds privately owned correctional facilities are inShow MoreRelated The Privatization of American Prisons Essay4419 Words   |  18 PagesThe Privatization of American Prisons Introduction Since 1984, the California Penal System has been forced to undergo drastic changes resulting from increased legislation aimed at increasing the severity of retribution to offenders leading to an exponentially increasing prison population. In the 132 years between 1852 and 1984, the state of California built twelve prisons, but has since supplemented the prison system with 21 new facilities. In 1977, the California Department of CorrectionsRead More Privatization of American Prisons: a System for Profit Essay8583 Words   |  35 Pagesthis paper will be a compilation of research on the privatization of American prisons. This will include the reasons for, the historical aspects of, and the ethical and legal problems that it can and has caused. The research methods that will be used to develop this research paper will be done through both classical use of books and use of internet-based sources. This topic is important for analysis because the privatization of American prisons is a subject that raises many ethical and legal questionsRead MoreSheding the Light on the Privatization of Prisons from the Costs Point of View1102 Words   |  5 Pages In 2013 a paper from authors, Kish and Lipton discuss the title: Do private prisons really offer savings compared with their public counterparts? The purpose of this article is to shed light on the privatization as far as the cost savings. 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As more federal and state run institutions became privatized there was a marked increase in numbers of those incarcerated as well as a push for more stringentRead MoreAmerican Incarceration : Where We Are, And What Can Be Done?1518 Words   |  7 PagesYasir Choudhury Dr. Joà £o Vargas UGS 303 Mass Incarceration 5 October 2015 American Incarceration: Where We Are, and What Can be Done From its early inception as a necessary aspect of modern society to its broken state that can be seen today, the American penal system has changed radically in recent history from an institution that performed the duty of safeguarding the public from those too dangerous to be left unsupervised to a business model concerned more with generating a profit for shareholders