2009 Reason Foundation Privatization Report Highlights Correctional Outsourcing
Annual analysis of public-private partnership includes timely look at corrections
photo by robertscreative.com
The Reason Foundation recently released its 23rd annual report on government outsourcing and privatization. The Foundation, which conducts nonpartisan public policy research, issued its Annual Privatization Report 2009 in August.
The yearly look at how public-private partnership is being carried out in a number of areas, such as education, telecommunications and transportation, also includes an update on its role in corrections.
In a Reason Foundation press release, Privatization Report editor Leonard Gilroy said: “Governments are swimming in red ink and realizing the effects of the recession will be felt long after the economy recovers. Interest in privatization is sky-high and rightly so. Now more than ever, policymakers need to study their priorities, re-examine what are really core government functions and then tap the private sector’s expertise in all of the areas where they can save taxpayer money and improve the quality of services.”
The report identified the following trends and examples of growing public interest in correctional outsourcing:
Arizona Considers Prison Privatization Program
The introduction of Senate Bill 1028, though vetoed by Gov. Jan Brewer, may signal increasing interest in partnering with the private sector to operate in-state facilities to house Arizona offenders.
Vanderbilt University Study Tallies Savings from Private Sector Involvement
As featured in the Winter 2009 issue of CCA Source, this study, titled “Do Government Agencies Respond to Market Pressures? Evidence from Private Prisons,” posits that states could save an average of $13-$15 million per year through the introduction of private prisons. This estimated savings is based on average annual state expenditures of $493 million.
Span of Correctional Privatization Grows
From reentry programs and transitional services to new privately managed facilities opening in several locales, the report identifies a number of states more openly considering public-private partnership as part their corrections planning. Additionally, it details the economic development such partnerships can present, as residents are gainfully employed at new facilities (including CCA’s North Georgia Detention Center in Gainesville, Ga., and Adams County Correctional Center in Natchez, Miss.).
To read the Reason Foundation’s full report, please visit www.Reason.org.
CCA Source, Fall 2009