Search for the Frugal Grail: An Empirical Assessment of the Cost-Effectiveness of Public Versus Private Correctional Facilities

• NCJ Number: 184094
• Journal: Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 10 Issue: 3 Dated: 1999 Pages: 447-471
• Author(s): Travis C. Pratt; Melissa R. Winston
• Editor(s): Nancy Koser Wilson
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 25 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Earlier version of paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology, 1998, Washington, D.C.

Annotation

The privatization of corrections has become a growth industry in the United States, but the contention that privatization is more effective than public management of correctional facilities has not been empirically demonstrated due to such methodological limitations as the selection of model facilities, inadequate sample sizes, and lack of sophisticated statistical controls.

Abstract

To rectify some of these empirical problems, a 1992-1993 nationwide census of public and private facilities in the United States for juveniles was examined. Juvenile detention centers, shelters, reception and diagnostic centers, training schools, ranches, camps, farms, and halfway houses were included in the census. Of all public and private facilities in the census, the sample consisted of 635 public and 2,126 private facilities. Results indicated that private correctional facilities for juveniles were no more cost-effective than public correctional facilities. Yet, specific types of private correctional facilities (low-security, non-detention center-type facilities such as halfway houses and shelters) tended to be more cost-effective under private management. The authors conclude that the ability of the private sector to provide juvenile correctional services at a lower cost than the public sector is real but limited. 67 references, 12 notes, and 2 tables