Prison is an institution designed to securely to house inmates who have been convicted of crimes. The United States holds the records for having the largest inmate population residing within the walls of the correctional system. The inflation in correctional spending and the largest prison population have impelled lawmakers and the government to look toward the privatization of prisons. Privatization of prisons is the use of private sector or corporation in financing, constructing, and managing correctional
Private prisons were a $4.8 billion industry in 2014, with profits of $629 million; according to a market research firm IBISWorld (2015). Private prisons in the United States are trying to solve the issue of saving money and prevent overcrowding. In a 1999 survey of private prisons, administrators compared statistics from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Some key findings conclude that private prisons had issues with staff turnover, escapes and drug use (Camp & Gaes). Through research, there have
The rapid interest in privatization stroked when all the levels of government economies were persistently challenging in running their operations during last two to three decades of twentieth century (Shirley, 1992). Since then, privatization of public sectors has been a key factor of structural reform programs in both developed and developing countries (Sheshinski & Lopez-Calva, 2003). The process of transferring ownership of public services from the public sector (the part which is controlled by
With the highest prison population in the world, the United States utilizes both public and private prison systems to house its prisoners. The privatization of prisons has caused significant controversy regarding the quality of these private prisons compared with that of public prisons. Because private prisons are run by for-profit corporations rather than a government department such as the Federal Bureau of Prisons, some believe that these prisons have no incentive to rehabilitate prisoners and
Private prisons are becoming a cash cow for a lot of Mega Corporations for big business. At one time in American penal system operated at dangerous criminal needed to be put under lock and key in order to protect society. Now and days many of our states are trying to save money so that’s why private prisons have been the answer to a lot of these states. We as a country are moving to that direction because it’s easier on states. With public prisons overcrowded the move for states to privatize prisons
The 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 Corrections
Youness Elhamidi PADM – 610 Public Management Research Paper (Week 8) Privatization of Public Services Dr. Timothy Bagwell Department of Public Administration American Public University Author Note Youness Elhamidi, Department of Public Administration, American Public University. Correspondence concerning this paper should be addressed to Youness Elhamidi, Department of Public Administration, American Public University System, 111 W. Congress Street, Charles Town, WV 25414. E-mail:
The Changing of the Guard: A Progressive Study of the Privatization of Prisons Abstract Privatization of prisons is not exactly a novel concept. The Federal Government has been contracting out such things as the building of new prisons, the operating of prisons, and providing goods and services to prisons since 2003. Some of the companies that the government trusts to do all of this are Corrections Corporation of America, and The GEO Service Group, formerly known as Wackenhut. Although the government
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. With a 500% increase in inmates that is rivalled by no other country, the United States leads the world in imprisoning a fast-growing portion of its
The “Prison Industrial Complex” was a term that was used by anti-prison activist within the prison abolishment movement to argue the attendant interest of prison industrialization, and t development of a minority prison labor force (Davis, 2003). This giant prison enterprise is an essential component of the U.S. economy, and has as its purposes such as profit, social control, and an interweaving of private business and government. These giant financial institutions recognized that prison building