Prison Privatization and Conjugal Visitation: A Nexus of Opportunity? (From Privatization and the Provision of Correctional Services: Context and Consequences, P 103-117, 1996, G. Larry Mays and Tara Gray, eds. - See NCJ-167497)

• NCJ Number: 167505
• Author(s): M C Leone; P T Kinkade
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 15 pages
• Sale Source: Anderson Publishing Co
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article proposes a way prison privatization may improve the availability of conjugal visitation, without additional costs or practical problems for the institution.

Abstract

It has been shown that private enterprise can be used to offer services within correctional environments in a cost effective manner that is advantageous to the inmates and the administration of the facility. One such service could be the creation of Inmate Family Visitation Centers (IFVCs). The centers could be located regionally, to serve inmates from several locations. They would operate as private institutions, constructed by private enterprise and funded by prisons on a per diem basis, with inmate and family funds used to cover the remaining costs. They would be secure facilities, modular in design, within a guarded perimeter. Given that these cottages would be designed for short-term occupation by a select population, they could be of a standard residential home construction, less costly than the indestructible materials required for standard prison construction. The IFVCs, while not a panacea, could produce advantages and positive outcomes similar to secure facility-oriented conjugal visits, without additional costs placed on the prison administration or the taxpayer. Tables, appendix