Privatization of Prisons

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There are several arguments for privatization of prisons. Through privatization of prisons, the government can obtain cheaper and lower cost facilities. The government takes a longer time to build a prison facility when compared with a private facility. Private prisons negotiate item costs and buy in bulk realizing economies of scale. Private prisons can be built in communities where there is need for jobs, and higher spending in the community (a). The privatization of prisons leads to improvement of services offered. Privatization of prisons leads to higher competition leading to superior performance and effective services. In the private sector there is scope for better designs of facility, greater operational and administrational flexibility, decentralized authority, and higher morale. Privatization will lead to lower pressure on public prisons (b). Prisoners in the public prisons will have more space and will have better budget for each of the prisoners. The inmate employee ratio in public prisons will increase if pressure is reduced.
One of the key arguments is that if there is privatization of prisons there will be a substantial reduction of cost. The salary, health benefits, compensation claims, or overtime claims are far lower in the private sector. The private sector often uses contract labor to keep its costs low. With privatization of prisons, the government can demand better services. Specifically, this means better living conditions, improved security, enforcement of effective security, and a stronger rehabilitation program for the prisoners. Further, the government can also ask for improved medical care, and prisoner management. From the perspective of employment, the argument for privatization of prisons is that a gateway for more employment will open up for people who can provide services in this area. Another argument for privatization of prisons is that financial incentives can be offered to privatized prisons to reduce recidivism ...