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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
| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| UK |
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| 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. |
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| UK |
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| Capitalist Punishment: Prison Privatization & Human Rights |
| Campbell, Allison; Coyle, Andrew & Neifeld, Rodney , 2003 |
| Atlanta: Clarity Press, Inc |
| Collection of international papers that is generally critical of private sector involvement which mainly covers US but includes material on UK, Australia and South Africa. |
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| US |
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United Kingdom
List of Resources:
| 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. |
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| UK |
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| Improving Prison and Probation Services: Public Value Partnerships (PDF) |
| National Offender Management Service (NOMS), 2006 |
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| 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 |
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| 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. |
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| UK |
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| Rehabilitation of Prisoners (PDF) |
| House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, 2005 |
| The Stationery Office |
| An inquiry into the rehabilitation of prisoners to reduce re-offending after release, focussing especially on helping prisoners find work and accommodation after release. Recommends the establishment of partnerships with the private sector to help achieve this. |
| HC 193-I |
| UK |
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| 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. |
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| UK |
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| Modernising Procurement in the Prison Service (PDF) |
| House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, 2003 |
| The Stationery Office |
| Following the NAO's report, the committee found that the Prison Service's procurement was fragmented and costly which is hindered by inadequate IT systems. It also recommended that the service should draw on the experience of other public and private sector operations facing similar challenges. |
| HC 676 |
| UK |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| 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. |
| ISBN: 0-85201-571-2 |
| UK |
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| 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. |
| ISSN 1473-8406 |
| UK |
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| Reducing Prisoner Re-offending (PDF) |
| House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts , 2002 |
| The Stationery Office |
| Building on the evidence of the NAO report, PAC recommended that, where available, more volunteers should be used in prisons and non-accredited programmes should be used to prepare short term prisoners for release as well as work with employers to provide more relevant work experience. |
| HC 619 |
| UK |
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| 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. |
| HC 548 |
| UK |
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| Consultation on the Future of the Scottish Prison Estate (PDF) |
| Scottish Executive, 2002 |
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| 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. |
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| UK |
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| Children in Prison: Provision and Practice at Ashfield |
| The Howard League for Penal Reform, 2002 |
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| Critical report on a young offenders' institution prior to turnaround. |
| ISBN 090368384-9 |
| UK |
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| 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. |
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| UK |
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| 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 |
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| The Refinancing of the Fazakerley PFI Prison Contract (PDF) |
| National Audit Office (NAO), 2000 |
| The Stationery Office |
| An examination of the Prison Service's decision to accept £1m from the financers of the PFI for HMP Altcourse. This was offered to offset the increase in HMPS's termination liabilities due to project's debt re-financing which was to bring additional profit to the consortium shareholders. |
| HC 584 |
| UK |
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| 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 |
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| 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. |
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| UK |
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| Alternative Types of Prison |
| Mouchel Consulting, 2000 |
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| Final Report to HM Prison Service. Extracts only available. |
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| UK |
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| 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 |
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| UK |
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| 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 |
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| UK |
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| The PFI Contracts for Bridgend and Fazakerley Prisons (Web Page) |
| House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC), 1998 |
| The Stationery Office |
| Although the benefits of PFI procurement as per NAO report (1997) are noted, the committee raises concerns over contractual limits to financial deductions arising from operational problems, the lack of competition in appointing advisers and the failure to properly consider savings from letting both contracts to one bidder.
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| HC 499 |
| UK |
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| 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 |
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| The government's response to the report of the Home Affairs Committee (below).
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| Cm3810 |
| UK |
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| 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 |
| HC 57 |
| UK |
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| 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 |
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| UK |
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| 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. |
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| UK |
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| 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. |
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| UK |
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| Report on the Procurement of Custodial Services for the DCMF Prisons at Bridgend and Fazakerley |
| Private Finance Panel Executive, 1996 |
| Office of Government Commerce |
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| UK |
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| 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. |
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| UK |
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| HM Prison Doncaster: The Doncatraz File |
| Prison Reform Trust, 1995 |
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| Highly critical report of prison contracting. |
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| UK |
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| Report to the Home Office on the Practicality of Private Sector Involvement in the Remand System |
| Deloitte Haskins and Sells, 1989 |
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| 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. |
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| UK |
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| 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. |
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| UK |
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| Contract Provision of Prisons, Fourth Report of the Home Affairs Committee |
| Home Affairs Committee, 1988 |
| The Stationery Office |
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| HC 291 |
| UK |
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United States
List of Resources:
| 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'. |
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| USA |
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| 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 |
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| USA |
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| Emerging Issues on Privatized Prisons (PDF) |
| Austin, James & Coventry, Garry, 2001 |
| Bureau of Justice Assistance, US Department of Justice |
| A study of the history, effects and future of privatisation. It concludes that there are no significant differences in quality or cost between public and private facilities and urges that the public and private sectors should work in partnership to push for much greater substantive improvement in the field of corrections services. |
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| USA |
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| 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 |
| A study of the South Bay Correctional Facility, a privately managed prison opened in 1997, and contracted through the Correctional Privatization Commission. The study compared construction costs and operation costs in 1997-98 and 1998-99. |
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| USA |
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| Progress Report on Bay and Moore Haven Private Prison Contracts (PDF) |
| Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), Florida, 2000 |
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| Assessment of the Correctional Privatization Commission's progress in managing two contracts for private prisons following earlier recommendations by OPPAGA to increase cost savings (see below, 1996).
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| USA |
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| 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. |
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| USA |
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| 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 |
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| USA |
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| 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. |
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| USA |
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| Follow-up Report on the Gadsden Correctional Institution (PDF) |
| Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), Florida, 1998 |
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| Finds that earlier recommendations to set up a quality comparison procedure were not followed up and discrepancies were found in contract monitoring, attributed to lack of permanent on-site monitoring presence at the establishment. |
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| USA |
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| 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. |
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| USA |
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| 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 |
| A review of the first two prison contracts let by the Correctional Privatization Commission, comparing compared the construction and operating costs of these two institutions with the adjusted costs of the most comparable public facilities. |
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| USA |
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| Follow-up Report on the Review of Correctional Privatization (PDF) |
| Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), Florida, 1997 |
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| Following the initial consultation below, OPPAGA recommends that the Governor of Florida establish an independent body to mediate between the Department of Corrections and Privatisation Commission following their inability to co-operate to reduce costs and identify effective approaches. |
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| USA |
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| Information Brief Comparing Costs of Private and Public Prisons (PDF) |
| Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), Florida, 1997 |
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| 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. |
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| USA |
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| 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. |
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| USA |
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| 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. |
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| US |
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| 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. |
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| USA |
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| 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. |
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| USA |
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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. |
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| Australia |
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| 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. |
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| Australia |
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| Corrections in the Balance: A Review of Corrective Services in Queensland (PDF) |
| Queensland Corrective Services Review, 1999 |
| Queensland Corrective Services Review |
| Report on how overcrowding and economic performance are being managed. Recommends the continuation of the public private partnership in service delivery and the maintenance of service contracts for both public and private providers.
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| Australia |
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| Private Prisons and Public Accountability |
| Harding, Richard W. , 1997 |
| Buckingham: Open University Press |
| Analysis by one of Australia's leading criminologists. |
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| Australia |
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| 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 |
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| Australia |
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| Private Prison Services in Australia |
| Prison Reform Trust, 1994 |
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| A sceptical report on prison contracting in Australia by a UK group. |
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| Australia |
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| 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. |
| ISBN 1 86493 913 5 |
| Australia |
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