Prisons
A small number of jurisdictions in the English speaking world - the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and South Africa - have contracted the management of entire prisons, including custodial services, to private companies. A significant number of independent studies of these prisons have been undertaken in the USA, the UK and Australia.
A growing number of countries around the world, including France, Germany and Japan, are now establishing PPPs in prisons, contracting out the management of support services, in some cases including medical and educational support and perimeter guarding.
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General
Inquiry into the Privatisation of Prisons and Prison Related Services (PDF) NSW Legislative Council, 2009 This extensive report details the impact of private prison operation on service quality, comparative cost between public and private management, accountability of private prisons and empirical evidence of private prisons in Australia and elsewhere. Australia
Privatisation of Prisons Update Gareth Griffith and Tom Edwards, 2009 NSW Parliamentary Library Research Service
This 'e-brief' updates the analysis offered by Lenny Roth in 'Privatisation of Prisons'. That paper presented a detailed account of the history and operation of private prisons, outlined the arguments for and against prison privatisation, and assessed the issue of accountability. This paper updates the context within which the prison reform debate in New South Wales is taking place, including state government plans to for wide-ranging prison reform in NSW and the response to these as well as recent research developments elsewhere in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
The Procurement of Goods and Services by HM Prison Service (PDF) Public Accounts Committee, 2009 Stationery Office H71 In 2003 the PAC published a report criticising procurement by the Prison Service. This report assesses the progress made in addressing this wide-ranging set of recommendations. It reports cash savings of £120 million as well as improved the quality of the goods and services it procures. UK
Locked up Potential: A strategy for reforming prisons and rehabilitating prisoners (PDF) Prison Reform Working Group (chair: Jonathan Aitken), 2009 Centre for Social Justice This report recommends a series of sweeping changes to organisation of the UK prisons sector, including that prisons and probation officers should be rewarded for cutting intractable reoffending rates. UK
Using Competition and Contracting to Improve Prison Performance (PDF) Sturgess, Gary , 2008 The Serco Institute This speech was delivered to the International Corrections and Prisons Association Conference in Prague, October 2008. The key theme in this is the contribution that markets can play in the development, identification and dissemination of innovation in public services. It focuses on three different aspects of public service markets that may make a difference - competition, contracting and commercialisation - using prisons as the case study. UK
Getting Back on the Straight and Narrow: A Better Criminal Justice System For All (PDF) CBI, 2008 This paper examines the challenges in reducing re-offending faced by UK prisons and probation due to overcrowding and lack of joined-up management. It puts forward recommendations to guide urgently needed reforms through sustainable commissioning-based solutions. ISBN 978-0-85201-678-7 UK
Designing Public Service Markets: The Custodial Sector as a Case Study (PDF) Sturgess, Gary and Smith, Briony, 2006 The Serco Institute This report looks at the custodial sector in the UK, US, Europe, Australia and South Africa as a case study on the involvement of private and not-for-profit organisations in the delivery of public services. UK
Capitalist Punishment: Prison Privatization & Human Rights
Campbell, Allison; Coyle, Andrew & Neifeld, Rodney , 2003
Atlanta: Clarity Press, Inc
Privatizing Correctional Services [link to executive summary and individual chapters] (Web Page)
Easton, Stephen T., 1998
Vancouver: The Fraser Institute
Collection of papers looking at the pros and cons of the privatisation debate which draws on evidence from UK, US and Canada.
United Kingdom
List of Resources:
Securing the Future: Proposals for the Efficient and Sustainable Use of Custody in England and Wales (PDF) Lord Carter of Coles, 2007 Ministry of Justice A review of prison management which makes recommendations on sentencing policy, estate building, financial management and workforce modernisation in order to keep pace with increases in prison population. UK
HMYOI Ashfield - The Health Service (PDF) Mathias, Megan and Smith, Briony, 2007 The Serco Institute A case study examining the health service provided in Ashfield Young Offenders Institution. The service has won national recognition for excellence in provision, a considerable achievement, made even more significant in the context of difficulties faced by Ashfield in the past. Drawing on interviews with fourteen stakeholders, the authors identify the key drivers in the Health Team's success. UK
National Commissioning Plan 2007/2008: Commissioning Framework (PDF) National Offender Management Service (NOMS) , 2007 A policy document which sets out strategic intentions for commissioning offender management services, priorities for investment and performance measures. UK
Improving Prison and Probation Services: Public Value Partnerships (PDF) National Offender Management Service (NOMS), 2006 Report on a NOMS programme aimed at improving public protection through the extension of partnership working and contestability. This includes the market testing of community and custody interventions and further competition in the builiding and operation of new prisons. ISBN-10: 1-874726-009-8 UK
A Five Year Strategy for Protecting the Public and Reducing Re-offending (PDF) Home Office, 2006 The Stationery Office Plans for reforming the criminal justice system including the introduction of a system built on the commissioning of services from expert providers and a phased programme of contestability. UK
Public Policy: Using Market-Based Approaches (PDF) Hahn, Robert; Coombs, Justin; Kalmus, Ciara; Razo, Carlos; Curry, Katherine, 2005 Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) The report examines how competition and market forces can be used to improve the way that public policy is implemented. DTI Economics Paper No. 14. UK
Rehabilitation of Prisoners (PDF)
House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, 2005
The Stationery Office
Managing Offenders, Reducing Crime: A New Approach (PDF) Carter, Patrick, 2003 Prime Minister's Strategy Unit Review of correctional services which proposes the establishment of the National Offender Management Service to provide end-to-end offender management. Greater use of competition from the private and voluntary sectors is put forward as a way of improving effectiveness and value for money. UK
Modernising Procurement in the Prison Service (PDF)
House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, 2003
The Stationery Office
Modernising Procurement in the Prison Service (PDF) National Audit Office (NAO), 2003 The Stationery Office Review of the purchase of goods and services throughout public sector prisons. Recommends that more central contracts are used and administrative costs reduced. Appendix 3 provides a comparison with procurement in some private sector run establishments. HC 562 UK
The Operational Performance of PFI Prisons (PDF) House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, 2003 The Stationery Office In light of the NAO report, the committee recommended greater co-operation between public and private sectors including the exchange of staff at junior levels to better learn from each other and more rigourous performance mangement for both public and private establishments. HC 904 UK
The Operational Performance of PFI Prisons (PDF) National Audit Office (NAO), 2003 The Stationery Office An examination of how privately run prisons have performed against their contractual requirements and against comparable public sector prisons, as well as how they have affected the Prison Service generally. Although contractual performance is seen to be mixed, private establishments are shown to have made positive innovations. HC 700 UK
Competition: A Catalyst for Change in the Prison Service: A Decade of Improvement
Sturgess, Gary, 2003
Confederation of British Industry
In 2003, the Serco Institute studied competition and contracting in the UK prisons sector, on behalf of the Confederation of British Industry. Drawing exclusively on government and independent academic research, this study looks at the value-for-money and service quality outcomes. It also undertakes a preliminary analysis of the conditions that facilitated this success.
Measuring the Quality of Prison Life (PDF)
Arnold, Helen & Liebling, Alison , 2002
Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate.
A survey on the quality of life in five prisons which showed significant differences between the establishments. Doncaster, a contract prison, scored highest on most of the measures.
Reducing Prisoner Re-offending (PDF)
House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts , 2002
The Stationery Office
Reducing Prisoner Re-offending (PDF)
National Audit Office (NAO), 2002
The Stationery Office
A review of the Prison Service's management of education, drug rehabilitation and resettlement programmes, many of which are delivered by outside organisations under contract, in light of government targets to reduce reconviction rates.
Report on the Prison Estates Review (Volume 1: Report) (Web Page)
Justice 1 Committee, Scottish Parliament, 2002
Report on the Prison Estates Review (Volume 2: Evidence) (Web Page) Justice 1 Committee, 2002 Scottish Parliament Minutes, reports of prison visits and records of oral and written evidence in support of above report. UK
Group 4 Falck A/S and The Wackenhut Corporation: A Report on the Merger Situation (PDF)
Competition Commission, 2002
An important report on the question of market power following the acquisition of TWC by G4F. No competition issues were found to arise either in the correctional services or security services markets.
Financial Review of Scottish Prison Service Estates Review (PDF) Pricewaterhouse Coopers, 2002 Scottish Prison Service (SPS) Financial evaluation by PwC for SPS of three different options for procurement of a new 700-cell prison. UK
Consultation on the Future of the Scottish Prison Estate (PDF)
Scottish Executive, 2002
Presents different options available for building three new prisons namely: public build-public operate, private build-public operate and private build-private operate. The latter is indicated to be the preferred option on grounds of cost whilst maintaining quality.
Privatised Prisons and Detention Centres in Scotland: An Independent Report (PDF)
Taylor, Phil and Cooper, Prof. Christine, 2002
A critical analysis of the Scottish Executive's proposal to extend the privatization programme which also investigates the privately run correctional services market, including HMP Kilmarnock, the first Scottish prison to be contracted out.
Children in Prison: Provision and Practice at Ashfield
The Howard League for Penal Reform, 2002
Critical report on a young offenders' institution prior to turnaround.
Review of PFI and Market Testing in the Prison Service
Carter, Patrick , 2001
HM Prison Service
Important report on the future of private sector involvement in the prison service.
The Refinancing of the Fazakerley PFI Prison Contract (Web Page) House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, 2001 The Stationery Office Recommendations include that departments should make better use of their negotiating position when PFI projects are refinanced and that there should also be better guidance available so that departments can better share in the benefits. HC 372 UK
The Refinancing of the Fazakerley PFI Prison Contract (PDF)
National Audit Office (NAO), 2000
The Stationery Office
Evaluation of Medway Secure Training Centre (PDF) Hagel, Ann; Hazel, Neal & Shaw, Catherine, 2000 Home Office, Communications and Development Unit, Research, Development and Statistics Directorate Report on the first completed STC designed to hold juvenile persistent offenders serving out the custodial portion of their secure training order and managed privately. Although the political controversy of the project is noted, the authors see the problems of running the centre within the wider context of applying the orders. ISBN 1 84082 537 5 UK
Modernising the Management of the Prison Service: An Independent Report by the Targeted Performance Initiative Working Group
Lord Laming of Tewin, 2000
HM Prison Service
Briefly deals with competition and contracting.
Alternative Types of Prison
Mouchel Consulting, 2000
Final Report to HM Prison Service. Extracts only available.
Review of Comparative Costs and Performance of Privately and Publicly Operated Prisons, 1998-99 (PDF) Park, Isabelle , 2000 Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate Part of a series of quantitative studies, starting with the Coopers and Lybrand report in 1996, comparing costs per prisoner and per place amongst a sample of private and public prisons which also looks at escapes, assaults, time spent in purposeful activity and drug testing. UK
Contracted Prisons: Cost and Staffing Comparisons, 1997-98
Andrewes, Carla, 2000
Planning Group, HM Prison Service
A series of internal reports comparing the costs of comparable public and private prisons
Review of Comparative Costs and Performance of Privately and Publicly Operated Prisons, 1997-98 (PDF)
Woodbridge, Jo , 1999
Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate
(see 1998-9 report above )
Contracted Prisons: Cost and Staffing Comparisons, 1996-97
Andrewes, Carla, 1999
Planning Group, HM Prison Service
A series of internal reports comparing the costs of comparable public and private prisons
The PFI Contracts for Bridgend and Fazakerley Prisons (Web Page)
House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC), 1998
The Stationery Office
The PFI Contracts for Bridgend and Fazakerley Prisons (Web Page)
National Audit Office (NAO), 1997
The Stationery Office
A report on the expected benefits of contracting design, construction and management of the first two prisons under the Private Finance Initiative.
Monitoring and Evaluation of Wolds Remand Prison and Comparisons with Public Prisons, in Particular HMP Woodhill (PDF) Bottomley, Keith; James, Adrian; Clare, Emma and Liebling, Alison, 1997 Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate Qualitative study by academics for government comparing first prison to have its operations contracted out to private sector with other prisons opened at around the same time. Based on observations of and interviews with staff and prisoners. ISBN 1-85893-768-X UK
The Government Reply to the 2nd Report from the Home Affairs Committee Session 1996-7 HC 57 The Management of the Prison Service(Public and Private)
Home Office, 1997
The Management of the Prison Service (Public and Private): Volumes I and II
House of Commons Select Committee on Home Affairs, 1997
The Stationery Office
An important report following the change of government which gave broad endorsement to private prison management
Privatizing Prisons: Rhetoric and Reality
Bottomley, Keith; Clare, Emma; James, Adrian & Liebling, Alison , 1997
Sage Publications
Particular focus on the Wolds, the first privately-managed prison in the UK
Review of Comparative Costs and Performance of Privately and Publicly Operated Prisons, 1996-97
Woodbridge, Jo, 1997
Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate
Prison Service Report, No. 3. A series of research reports comparing the performance of privately-managed prisons and public sector comparators.
Contracted Prisons: Cost and Staffing Comparisons, 1995-96
Andrewes, Carla , 1997
Planning Group, HM Prison Service
A series of internal reports comparing the costs of comparable public and private prisons.
Report on the Procurement of Custodial Services for the DCMF Prisons at Bridgend and Fazakerley
Private Finance Panel Executive, 1996
Office of Government Commerce
Review of Comparative Costs and Performance of Privately and Publicly Operated Prisons
Prison Service Research Report, No.1, HM Prison Service, 1996
Coopers & Lybrand
A series of research reports comparing the performance of privately-managed prisons and public sector comparators.
HM Prison Doncaster: The Doncatraz File
Prison Reform Trust, 1995
Highly critical report of prison contracting.
Report to the Home Office on the Practicality of Private Sector Involvement in the Remand System Deloitte Haskins and Sells, 1989 A report prepared for the UK Government investigating whether private involvement in prisons could meet the criteria of clear accountability, improved cost-effectiveness and operational practicality. UK
Private Sector Involvement in the Remand System
Home Secretary, 1988
Cm434, Report to Parliament by the Home Secretary.
One of the landmark reports in the development of competition in custodial services.
Contract Provision of Prisons, Fourth Report of the Home Affairs Committee Home Affairs Committee, 1988 The Stationery Office HC 291 UK
United States
List of Resources:
Contracting for Success: Improving Performance in Corrections (PDF) MTC Institute, 2007 A paper on the benefits of competition in prison operations as well as enhancing accountability and performance, especially in reducing recidivism. USA
Contracting Prison Operations: A Plan to Improve Performance (PDF) MTC Institute, 2007 A study which provides information on the public policy debate surrounding contracted prisons, potential barriers practitioner considerations and operational considerations. USA
The Interrelationship Between Public and Private Prisons (PDF)
Blumstein, James F. & Cohen, Mark A., 2003
Association of Private Correctional and Treatment Organizations
A study using US data on prisons from 1990-2001 which tested whether 'the existence of private prisons to manage a portion of a state's prison population has the effect of moderating the growth in costs per prisoner in the public sector'.
Certain Data Relating to State Expenditures for State Departments of Corrections
Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain, 2003
Analysis prepared for Corrections Corporation of America
Analysis of the raw data
The Extent, History and Role of Private Companies in the of Delivery Correctional Services in the United States (PDF) Segal, Geoffrey F., 2002 Reason Foundation Briefing paper which gives an overview of private sector involvement in the correctional services market and outlines advantages that can be achieved in costs and performance. USA
Weighing the Watchmen: Evaluating the Costs and Benefits of Outsourcing Correctional Services-Part One: Employing a Best Value Approach to Procurement (PDF)
Segal, Geoffrey F. & Moore, Adrian T., 2002
Reason Foundation
Weighing the Watchmen: Evaluating the Benefits of Outsourcing Correctional Services- Part II: Reviewing the Literature on Cost and Quality Comparisons (PDF) Segal, Geoffrey F. and Moore, Adrian T., 2002 Reason Foundation Review of studies comparing cost and quality between public and private prisons which presents evidence that contracting can lead to improvements. USA
A Tale of Two Systems: Cost, Quality, and Accountability in Private Prisons (PDF)
Volokh, Alexander, 2002
Harvard Law Review 115, p.1838ff
A wide ranging comparison of public and private prisons set in the social, political and constitutional context of the United States. Private prisons are found to be more accountable and seen as a good way of developing the prison system.
Emerging Issues on Privatized Prisons (PDF)
Austin, James & Coventry, Garry, 2001
Bureau of Justice Assistance, US Department of Justice
Lake City Correctional Facility Experienced Start-Up Problems, But It Has Improved (PDF)
Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), Florida, 2000
OPPAGA Private Prison Review, Report No 99-33
South Bay Correctional Facility Provides Savings and Success; Room for Improvement (PDF)
Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), Florida, 2000
OPPAGA Private Prison Review, Report No 99-39
Progress Report on Bay and Moore Haven Private Prison Contracts (PDF)
Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), Florida, 2000
The Perpetual Prisoner Machine: How America Profits From Crime
Dyer, Joel , 2000
Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press
An account of the rising US prison population and expanding prison-industrial complex based on the increasing influence of the media and big business on government.
A Comparative Recidivism Analysis of Releasees from Private and Public Prisons
Lanza-Kaduce, Lonn; Parker, Karen F. & Thomas, Charles W., 1999
Crime and Delinquency, 45(1), pp.28-47
Alternatives for Financing Prison Facilities (PDF) Brown and Wood LLP, 1999 Association of State Correctional Administrators A paper on the different forms of public finance vehicles for prison construction and public/private combinations that have been used in the United States. USA
Follow-up Report on the Gadsden Correctional Institution (PDF)
Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), Florida, 1998
Private Prisons in the United States: An Assessment of the Current Practice (PDF)
McDonald, Douglas; Fournier, Elizabeth; Russell-Einhourn, Malcolm and Crawford, Stephen, 1998
Abt Associates Inc
Comprehensive study of private prisons and survey of contracting practices for the US Attorney General which reviews research on cost effectiveness, performance and related legal issues. It takes a generally sceptical attitude about the conclusiveness of the available evidence.
Review of Bay Correctional Facility and Moore Haven Correctional Facility (PDF)
Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), Florida, 1998
The Florida Legislature, Report No 97-68
Private Prisons: Quality Corrections at a Lower Cost (PDF)
Adrian T. Moore, 1998
Reason Foundation
A study based on available evidence in the US which concludes that private prisons overwhelmingly deliver good quality services at a lower cost.
Follow-up Report on the Review of Correctional Privatization (PDF)
Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), Florida, 1997
Information Brief Comparing Costs of Private and Public Prisons (PDF) Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), Florida, 1997 Consultation document which proposes solutions to the problem of comparing dissimilar public and private prisons, so as to achieve more objective data to compare their cost efficiency. Includes responses from Florida Department of Corrections and the Privatisation Commission. USA
The Proper Scope of Government: Theory and an Application to Prisons
Hart, Oliver; Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Rovert W., 1997
The Quarterly Journal of Economics, pp.1127-1161
The authors develop a model whereby a provider can invest in improving quality or reducing costs and use it to better understand the costs and benefits of prison privatization.
Performance Audit of Gadsden Correctional Institution (PDF)
Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), Florida, 1996
The Florida Legislature, Report No 95-48
A review of Florida's first contract prison which looked at the contract to construct and manage the Institution in its first year of operation and compared it with a similar state institution.
Private Prisons Succeed (PDF) Thomas, Charles W., 1995 National Center for Policy Analysis Brief analysis of the evolution, quality, benefits and policy issues surrounding private prisons in the US based on testimony delivered by Florida University academic to a US House Committee on crime. USA
Well Kept: Comparing Quality of Confinement in a Public and a Private Prison Logan, Charles H., 1992 The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Vol. 83, No.3 (Autumn) pp.577-613 An in-depth study using 333 indicators to compare the quality of three women's prisons (private, state and federal). The private facility is found to consistently outperform the other two. USA
Australia
List of Resources:
Value for Money from NSW Correctional Centres (PDF) Public Accounts Committee , 2005 Legislative Assembly of New South Wales The Public Accounts Committee compared the performance of two public correctional centres - Kempsey and Dillwynia - established under the threat of exposure to market-testing, with two broadly comparable public prisons managed under the traditional model, for the year 2004-05. One of its recommendations was that at least one private prison should be maintained in the state for benchmarking purposes and to encourage innovative management techniques. Australia
Report of the Independent Investigation into the Management and Operations of Victoria's Private Prisons (Part 1) (PDF)
Kirby, Peter, 2000
Department of Justice, State of Victoria
Report commissioned by the Minister for Corrections following the deaths of five inmates at a privately run prison. Fifty-four recommendations were made to improve contract design and management and promote cohesion throughout the system. (Part 2 and Appendices below)
Report of the Investigation into the Management and Operations of Victoria's Private Prisons (Part 2) (PDF) Kirby, Peter, 2000 Department of Justice, State of Victoria Part 2 of the above report. Australia
Report of the Independent Investigation on the Management and Operations of Victoria's Private Prisons (Appendices and Bibliography) (PDF) Kirby, Peter, 2002 Department of Justice, State of Victoria Australia
Profiting from Punishment. Private Prisons in Australia: Reform or Regression?
Moyle, Paul , 2000
Annandale, NSW: Pluto Press
Case study of the first private prison in Australia.
Corrections in the Balance: A Review of Corrective Services in Queensland (PDF)
Queensland Corrective Services Review, 1999
Queensland Corrective Services Review
Victoria's Prison System: Community Protection and Prisoner Welfare.
Auditor General, Victorian, 1999
Deaths in Private Prisons 1990-99: A Comparative Study (PDF) Biles, David and Dalton, Vicki, 1999 Australian Institute of Criminology A study which compares the death rates in public and private prisons. Australia
Private Prisons and Public Accountability
Harding, Richard W. , 1997
Buckingham: Open University Press
Analysis by one of Australia's leading criminologists.
Competitive Tendering of Prisons in Queensland
Steering Committee for the Review of Commonwealth/State Service Provision, 1997
Melbourne Industry Commission
Reforms in Government Service Provision. Case study of the first competition of custodial services in Australia
Private Prison Services in Australia
Prison Reform Trust, 1994
A sceptical report on prison contracting in Australia by a UK group.
Private Prisons and Police: Recent Australian Trends
Moyle, Paul , 1994
Pluto Press
A collection of essays reflecting the perspectives of academics, practitioners and industry which addresses the theoretical and practical issues surrounding the contracting of prison and policing services.