Suchergebnisse

In June 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court in a five to four majority decision of Richardson v. McKnight determined that employees of private correctional institutions are not entitled to the same qualified immunity defense as employees working in public institutions. This article presents the theoretical, penological, and legal issues concerning the majority and minority arguments and some of the opinions expressed in law reviews concerning this decision. Finally, it reviews the possible effects of this case and shows the inconsistencies in both the majority and the minority opinions.

The privatization of jails and prisons became a growth industry during the second half of the 1980s and the 1990s. Although the private sector has provided diverse services for adult correctional institutions for a long time during the 20th century, the operation and management of entire facilities is a relatively new phenomenon. This article analyzes, on a theoretical level, the organizational changes that occur when private corporations are contracted to operate adult correctional facilities. The major theoretical concepts reviewed are goal orientation, cui bono—who are the primary beneficiaries of the organization, the organization-set, and "steering versus rowing." This article concludes with some suggestions that should be taken into consideration when correctional privatization decisions are being made.

This article deals with several conceptual issues concerning the privatisation of prisons. The focus is on the private operation rather than the financing and the construction of facilities. Typically, the issue of correctional privatisation is debated on utilitarian grounds, the main supporting argument centring on cost effectiveness, while such issues as ethics, symbolism, motivation, and accountability are neglected. The article highlights problems of separation between the determination and administration of punishment, the adoption of the free market model to the provision of human services, the symbolic messages of private prisons, corporate ethics, and organisational accountability.