1. Brittany Meade
ENC 3241
10 March 2013
Professor Danielle Powell
Public versus Private Prisons: Technical Report
Abstract
The purpose of this report is to inform the reader of the comparisons between public prisons and
private prisons. The report will detail the definitions, history, locations, pros and cons, cost
efficiency, and overall data comparisons of both sanctions. It was also provide a
recommendation for which is the most efficient way to house inmates based on statically
information regarding cost and rehabilitation efforts and their effects. The report should provide
the reader with information about how both facilities work, and which one is more ideal than the
other.
Introduction
For many years now, private and public prisons have been a topic of interest. This controversial
topic has risen due to the demand for more prisons to house more inmates. Throughout the
course of this report, the reader will find in depth research done on the diverse aspects of both
public and private correctional facilities. It is important to understand their roles, the laws and
regulations for both, and case studies that have proven which facilities are most beneficial to

2. correctional programs.
Definitions of Public and Private Prisons
Public (State/government Ran) Prisons
Prison facilities run by state correctional authorities. Prisoners housed in these
facilities are under the legal authority of the state government and
generally serving a term of more than 1 year (BJS.)
Private Prison
A private prison, jail, or detention center is a place in which individuals are
physically confined or interned by a third party that is contracted by a local,
state or federal government agency.
History
Public prisons in the US date back to the 19th century, when incarceration of was first
considered a type if punishment. They were formerly called "penitentiaries." Their purpose was
to make their prisoners religious pennants, who were serving time for their sins. Prisons, or
penitentiaries, were a great source of incarceration until they became known for their
overcrowding and deplorable conditions (Borge.)
Private prisons are also knows as "for-profit" prisons. They too, are known as a detention center,
jail, and correctional facility. The federal and state government has a history of contracting out
private organizations to take over medical services, food preparation, inmate transportation,
training etc. The 1980's, however, is when privatization of prisons began to prosper. The Drug
War was a direct influence on more inmates being incarcerated, thus needing more prisons

3. within the U.S. In 1984, the Corrections Corporation of America won one of the first major
contracts for a private prison. Despite much opposition from public employees and skeptics, the
CCA expanded country wide, and currently has about 153 private sectors (Wikipedia.)
Cost
It has been taunted for years that private prisons are more cost effective than public prisons.
However, there has been no real evidence of this. A researcher named Dr. Charles Thomas
conducted a study of the cost efficiency of private prisons, and was found that his evidence was
false and incorrect. He was fined a great deal for his false research and conclusions. Another
study was done for the Subcommittee on Crime, Committee on Justice, and the House of
Representatives where they asked 3 states (California, Tennessee, and Washington) to survey the
costs for their private and public prisons. These particular states showed there was no real
significant difference between the two (GAO.)
The DOC director in Arizona finds there is difficulty in conducting an apples-to-apples
comparison of facilities because of the many differences in operations and cost factors between a
state and private-run facility, beginning with the number of prisoners served. In fiscal year 2011,
state-run prisons housed 85 percent of Arizona prisoners, with an average daily population of
34,155, while private prisons housed the remaining 15 percent, or 6,071 prisoners. As of Oct. 31,
the department also had jurisdiction over 5,822 offenders on community supervision (Walker.)
Data and Research
Private prisons were built on the belief that profit will be of greater importance to the private
sector than the constitutional, ethical, or fair treatment of its inmates and staff. Since labor
accounts for approximately 70% of all prison expenses, the secret to low-cost operations is to
have the minimum number of officers watching the maximum number of inmates. Data were

4. obtained from the Criminal Justice Institute's (CJI) Corrections Yearbook. The 1998 and 2000
editions were initially selected for comparative analysis. However, data on the private sector
were incomplete for 2000. During 1998, approximately 74% of the prisoners held by the private
sector and 53% of the private prisons were represented in the data set. However, by 2000, only
35% of the prisoners held by the private sector and 36% of the private prisons were represented.
Specific areas of prison operations for 2000 fared even worse. For example, only 12 private
prisons (down from 53 in 1998) provided information on employee turnover rates. Since data for
2000 were incomplete, data were obtained solely from 1998. During both 1998 and 2000, 88% of
all public sector prisoners were represented in the CJI data-sets (Blakley, Bumphus.)
A report by Blakley and Bumphus in the Federal Probation Journal concluded the following
based on several studies and reports:
- The private sector reported an average of 40 assaults on inmates and 9 assaults on
staff per prison.
-The public sector reported 19 assaults on inmates and 10 assaults on staff per prison.
This suggests that the private sector experienced more than twice the number of assaults
against inmates than did the public sector and slightly fewer assaults against staff
-The private sector reported on average 28% of their inmate population participated in
drug treatment programs. On the other hand, the public sector reported that 14% of
their inmate population participated in similar treatment programs. This suggests that
private sector prisons had, on average, twice the number of inmates participating in drug
treatment than did the public sector.
-The private sector reported that it paid its inmates a wage of $1.09 to $2.75 per day
for non-industry labor (6.5 hours per day). The public sector reported that it paid its

5. inmates an average wage of $0.99 to $3.13 per day for non-industry labor (6.5 hours
per day). This suggests that the private sector paid $0.10 per day more than did the
public sector for their average minimum wage, but approximately $0.38 per day less for
its average maximum wage.
-When considering custody levels, the private sector houses approximately 21% fewer
inmates at the maximum and close security levels and approximately 15% more inmates
at the minimum security level than does the public sector. Thus, 90% of the private
sector's inmate population is classified at the medium or minimum levels, whereas only
69% of the public sector's inmate population are so designated. When considering the
average number of months served by inmates prior to release, the private sector
reported a stay of 11 months versus approximately 28 months for the public sector.
- The average length of stay for inmates in private sector prisons was over 16 months
less than for inmates incarcerated by the public sector. This is consistent with differences
in classification where higher security designations are often tied to offence seriousness
and sentence length.
-The private sector operated at 82% capacity while public sector prisons operated on
average at 113% capacity. Thus, private prisons were operating at 18% below their
capacity levels while public prisons were operating at 13% above their designed
capacity levels.
-In 1998, the private sector paid officers $15,919 to $19,103. This range represents a
difference of $3,184. During this same year, public prisons paid their officers $21,246
to $34,004. This range represents a difference of $12,758. Thus, the private sector
paid new officers approximately $5,327 less than did the public sector while offering

6. less advancement in salary, with the difference in maximum salaries being $14.90.
Overall Comparisons
Both sectors certainly have their pros and cons. Based on the data shown above, it seems that for
inmates, the private prisons are more ideal. More offenders attend drug treatment programs
based on study mentioned, which leads me to conclude more rehabilitation comes out of the
private sector. They are paid more for their labor and are less crowded as public sectors. On the
contrary, public sectors are more ideal for the staff. There were fewer assaults on officers in
public prisons than in private. Staff wages were a great deal higher when employed in the public
prison, along with better government benefits. Turnover rates are also much higher in the private
sector, meaning there is more job security in the public prison. The officer to inmate ratio is also
better in public sectors, making it a safer environment for staff members.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Private sectors are proven to be more dangerous than a public sector. They adhere to a less ideal
way of how prisons should be run. Granted, public prisons are going to have more overcrowding,
but the inmate to staff ratio remains at a safe constant. Personally, I feel it is better to look out for
the best interest of the staff before the inmates, especially if inmates use privatization to their
advantage. Rehabilitation efforts should be increased in public prisons to equal out to the private
sectors, and public prisons will have the better majority.

7. References
Blakley, Bumphis. "Private and Public Sector Prisons—A Comparison of Select
Characteristics."Federal Probation. 68.1 (2011): n. page. Print.
<http://www.uscourts.gov/uscourts/federalcourts/pps/fedprob/2004-06/prisons.html>.
Borge, Christian . "Sparks Fly Over Private vs Public Prisons." Prison Policy
Initiative.N.p..Web. 17 Mar 2013. <http://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/sparksfly.shtml>.
United States General Accounting Office. United States General Accounting Office.
PRIVATE AND PUBLIC PRISONS Studies Comparing Operational Costs and/or Quality of
Service.
"Private Prison." Wikipedia. 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_prison>.
Walker, Teri. "Corrections Evaluates Both Private And Public Prisons." AZJournal.
(2011): n. page. Print. <http://www.azjournal.com/2012/01/04/corrections-evaluates-both-
private-and-public-prisons/>.