Public-Private Partnerships in Prison Construction and Management

Over recent years lower income countries have shown increasing interest in the potential benefits of public private partnerships in the prison field. This paper opens with a brief survey of the history of prison privatization, a description of the various models applied in different countries and an outline of the potential attractions of those models. It then assesses the evidence about whether private prisons produce value for money and improved performance as well as analyzing their impact on the wider prison and criminal justice system. The paper concludes that while specific evidence from low income countries is limited, there may be significant risks attached to private prisons where robust legislative and regulatory frameworks are less developed. The starting point before the consideration of private sector involvement in prisons must be a full analysis of the infrastructure and processes required by a country in its criminal justice system in order to meet international norms and standards and contribute to development goals. Within such a framework, community based alternatives to pre-trial detention and short prison sentences are likely to prove more economical and effective than prison expansion.