Who punishes whom? Bifurcation of private and public responsibilities in criminal punishment

Burkhardt, Brett C.

doi:10.1080/0735648x.2016.1174619

Cited by 23 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Yet the findings from quantitative analyses of state‐level prison privatization have generally failed to reveal a relationship between party control of government and prison privatization (Burkhardt, ; Price & Riccucci, ). Other factors closely associated with partisan politics, however, are important.…”

Section: Politics Influence Privatizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Numerous study results have indicated a link exists between political ideology (liberalism) of a state and its privatization policy (Burkhardt, ; Jing, ; Nicholson‐Crotty, ). Others have shown a negative relationship between union membership (itself a historical force in Democratic politics) and prison privatization (Burkhardt, ; Gunderson, ). Thus, although recent history has seen a clear partisan divide on the issue of prison privatization, partisan politics has not been a consistent or a direct determinant of privatization.…”

Section: Politics Influence Privatizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, why is privatization limited to lower risk, mundane programs and facilities? Consider the following: In 2005, the private sector held 25% of all prisoners in low‐security facilities but only 5% of all prisoners in medium‐ or maximum‐security facilities and none of the prisoners in super–maximum‐security facilities (Burkhardt, ). Two general explanations exist for the scarcity of private contracts for high‐security prisons: supply side and demand side.…”

Section: Gaps In Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

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The politics of correctional privatization in the United States

Burkhardt

2019

Criminology & Public Policy

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Research Summary Private correctional firms are political actors. They work to create favorable conditions to market their services. At the same time, they are constrained by external political forces, including political parties, social movements, and public opinion. In this article, I review what we know about the reciprocal relationship between the private corrections industry and politics. Policy Implications Through my review of extant research, I discover several implications for practitioners and policy makers. First, correctional privatization is not uniformly accepted, a fact that presents challenges for the industry and opportunities for critics. Second, punitive policies that seem beneficial to industry (particularly those related to tough immigration policy) may in fact pose real reputational risks. Third, new forms of privatization—namely, social impact bonds—may prove more tolerable to the general public. Finally, consideration of political activity by private industry should not distract from political activity by public‐sector actors (e.g., prison guard unions).

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Section: Politics Influence Privatizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Politics Influence Privatizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gaps In Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

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The politics of correctional privatization in the United States

Burkhardt

2019

Criminology & Public Policy

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“…Based on responses to this survey, between 10% and 15% of the public (or at least of Michigan residents) support privatization of the operation of maximum‐ and minimum‐security prisons by for‐profit companies, respectively. The stronger support for privatization of lower security facilities over higher security facilities is reflected in the bifurcation of privatized correctional facilities across security levels (Burkhardt, ). It would probably be a mistake, however, to infer from that alignment that public opinion informed decisions to pursue privatization along those lines.…”

Section: Public Opinion Related To Privatization Of Prisons and Punismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some of the oft‐cited studies are described as documenting public support for privatization when they are generally explaining the political determinants of privatization (see, e.g., Burkhardt, ; Jing, ; Price, ; Price & Riccucci, ).…”

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confidence: 99%

Public opinion and correctional privatization

Frost

Trapassi

Heinz

2019

Criminology & Public Policy

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Research Summary: Slightly more than half of all states and the federal government currently have contracted with private prison corporations for the incarceration of some of their correctional populations. We use the literature on privatization of prisons to argue that we know surprisingly little about the public's perception of this phenomenon. We summarize what is known from the thin body of research into public opinion in the correctional domain, and then we argue for an expanded research agenda to develop a more extensive (and nuanced) understanding of public perceptions in this context.Policy Implications: Private correctional facilities run by for-profit companies, and the privatization of correctional services beyond institutions, have proliferated despite little knowledge regarding public support for the expansion of privatization in the correctional domain. Given that public opinion, or at least perceptions of those opinions, can directly or indirectly influence policy, we argue that expanding our knowledge of the nature, direction, and malleability of public opinion has substantial policy implications for the future of prison privatization. K E Y W O R D S corrections, for-profit prisons, private prisons, privatization, public opinion, public perception(s), public support According to the authors of a recent Sentencing Project (2018) report, 27 states and the federal government currently incarcerate a portion of their correctional populations in privately owned and operated prisons. Nationally, 8.5% of all those currently incarcerated across the United States are incarcerated in privately owned prisons with New Mexico and Montana leading all other states by incarcerating 43.1% and 38.8% of their prison populations in private prisons, respectively. In 2016,

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Who is in private prisons? Demographic profiles of prisoners and workers in American private prisons

Burkhardt

2017

International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice

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Who punishes whom? Bifurcation of private and public responsibilities in criminal punishment

Cited by 23 publications

References 47 publications

The politics of correctional privatization in the United States

The politics of correctional privatization in the United States

Public opinion and correctional privatization

Who is in private prisons? Demographic profiles of prisoners and workers in American private prisons

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