History of privatized corrections

Harding, Richard; Rynne, John; Thomsen, Lisa

doi:10.1111/1745-9133.12426

Cited by 20 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 43 publications

(67 reference statements)

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“…This situation arises in part because of ambiguity about what counts as “private.” For example, prisons deemed to be “public” typically are operated by the government. As noted and as discussed by Harding, Rynne, and Thomsen (, this issue), however, public prisons may contract for private services, such as drug treatment and medical care. When a prison is publicly operated but private entities support those operations, is the prison “public” or “private?” Another illustration of the ambiguity can be seen in probation, where a “public” probation officer may provide supervision but private vendors may oversee electronic monitoring and mandated drug tests.…”

Section: Defining Privatized Correctionsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Privatized corrections in the 21st century

Montes

Mears²

2019

Criminology & Public Policy

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Research Summary: Governments historically have relied on private organizations to assist with the provision of correctional punishment and services. This reliance continues but has engendered considerable debate that stems from ideological divides. Debate stems as well from a disjuncture between the limited evidence about privatization and calls for evidence-based policy. In this article, we present a conceptual framework for identifying what is and is not known about privatization and for guiding scholarship and policy. We then discuss key issues that must be addressed to advance knowledge about privatization and productively inform policy debates.

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Section: Defining Privatized Correctionsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Privatized corrections in the 21st century

Montes

Mears²

2019

Criminology & Public Policy

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“…These region‐specific variations indicate that privatization may be used for different purposes—and therefore have different impacts—across global regions. To get a sense of why privatization has been embraced in some regions more than others, we examine each region separately (see also Harding, Rynne, & Thomsen, , this issue).…”

Section: How (And Why) Does Reliance On Privatized Corrections Vary Amentioning

confidence: 99%

International perspectives on the privatization of corrections

Byrne

Kras

Marmolejo

2019

Criminology & Public Policy

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Research Summary:In this article, we provide a global snapshot of the recent (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018) expansion of the private sector's involvement in both institutional and community corrections systems. Variation in the use of private-sector organizations to manage both institutional and community correction populations is examined within and across global regions, with a focus specifically on the utilization of privatization in the 50 countries with the highest prison populations. The key private-sector organizations in each global region are also identified, and the "new technology" acquisitions by these companiesdocumenting the expansion of prison-based organizations into community corrections-are considered. In addition, the available evaluation research on the comparative effectiveness of private-versus public-sector management of both prisons and community corrections is reviewed. Based on this review, we offer our assessment of the available data on global developments in the privatization of corrections, as well as the available research on the comparative performance of public-sector and private-sector corrections.Policy Implications: Policy makers considering the advantages and disadvantages of privatization in either their institutional-or their community-based corrections system need to consider not only whether performance improves when the private sector gets involved but also pendent, high-quality evaluations in countries currently using privatization to help manage prison, jail, and/or community corrections populations. K E Y W O R D Scommunity corrections, prisons, privatization DATA AND METHODWe begin our review by highlighting privatization initiatives in each global region based on available databases, published reports, newspaper articles, and other publically available documents in which the public sector's role in corrections is described. We caution the reader that our review is preliminary and that our ability to document the expansion of the private sector into community-based corrections systems varied both within and across global regions. 3 Next, we examine the utilization of privatesector companies by corrections systems in the countries with the 50 largest prison populations. More than 90% of the world's prison population is located in these 50 countries.A third area of inquiry involved the identification of the key players in the global private corrections market, with a focus specifically on whether the global expansion of private prisons and community corrections programs has its roots in the two largest U.S. private prison providers-GEO Group and CoreCivic. 4 By examining the recent technology and community corrections facility acquisitions by GEO Group included in the company's most recent filing before the Security and Exchange Commission, the movement of these prison-focused companies into the community corrections arena can be documented. We conclude our review by summarizing the resu...

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“…Fifth, consideration of all types of private correctional facilities, not just prisons, is relevant to understanding the need for and effects of privatization. For example, the operations and impacts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities may differ from that of other types of private prisons (Eisen, 2019; Harding et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simplifying Reality: The Media’s Portrayal of the Private Prison Debate

Montes

Mears

Gricius

et al. 2020

Crime & Delinquency

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Although the media gives considerable attention to prison privatization, there have been few assessments of how newspapers portray the debate about it and how that portrayal aligns with what is known empirically about private prisons. This study addresses this gap in the literature by undertaking a content analysis of newspaper articles ( N = 131) about private prisons and private Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, respectively. The results show that few news stories discuss the broad range of factors that scholars highlight as important aspects of the privatization debate. It is also uncommon for news reports, especially those that discuss private immigration facilities, to refer to empirical research or its importance. The implications of this limited portrayal of private facilities are discussed.

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History of privatized corrections

Cited by 20 publications

References 43 publications

Privatized corrections in the 21st century

Privatized corrections in the 21st century

International perspectives on the privatization of corrections

Simplifying Reality: The Media’s Portrayal of the Private Prison Debate

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