NCJ Number
186057
Date Published
October 2000
Length
142 pages
Annotation
A study of the management and operation of the three private prisons in Victoria, Australia, focused on the current legislative and contractual arrangements, as well as security management and other aspects of correctional performance.
Abstract
The analysis also focused on ways to ensure that the Victoria corrections system operates in a more consistent, cohesive, and integrated manner, particularly in relation to the provision of health services, risk identification and management, and prisoner management issues. The Minister for Corrections requested the study as a result of five deaths at Port Phillip Prison. Study information came from a literature review, written submissions in response to public advertisements, meetings with more than 55 individuals and groups, advice from specialists, and site visits. Results revealed that the current contracts do not adequately specify the service standards or make possible the evaluation of an individual prison’s performance. The analysis concluded that the Correctional Policy and Management Standards need greater clarity and specificity, that the Corrections Act of 1986 more clearly specify roles and responsibilities, and that the prisons need a program of quality reviews based on the principles of a healthy prison. In addition, the prison system needs a new model for health care to reduce fragmentation and disruptions and should improve the integration efforts of nongovernmental agencies and voluntary organizations into prisons’ operations. The analysis also concluded that Victoria should focus on the evolution of one prison system rather than on maintaining an artificial distinction between the public prison system and the private system. Footnotes, tables, appended background information, and 92 references