Private Prisons: Cons And Pros
by Charles H. Logan /
1990 / English / PDF
14.5 MB Download
American prisons and jails are overflowing with inmates. To relieve
the pressure, courts have imposed fines on overcrowded facilities
and fiscally strapped governments have been forced to release
numerous prisoners prematurely. In this study, noted criminologist
Charles Logan makes the case for commercial operation of prisons
and jails as an alternative to the government's monopoly. On
philosophical, economic, legal, and practical grounds, Logan argues
a compelling case for the private and commercial operation of
prisons. He critically examines all objections raised by opponents,
and concludes that while private prisons face many potential
problems, they do so primarily because they are prisons, not
because they are private. Historically, the record of private
ownership and operation of corrections facilities has been
bleak--ridden with political corruption, physical abuse of
prisoners, and the single-minded pursuit of profits. This study
demonstrates that this need not be the case. Critiquing the
tendency to contrast private prisons with a hypothetical ideal,
Logan instead compares them with existing public institutions,
arguing that the potential problems attributed to private prisons
are experienced by their public counterparts. The work examines ten
sets of issues, including the propriety, cost, security, and
quantity of prisons, to set out a strong case for the viability of
proprietary prisons.
American prisons and jails are overflowing with inmates. To relieve
the pressure, courts have imposed fines on overcrowded facilities
and fiscally strapped governments have been forced to release
numerous prisoners prematurely. In this study, noted criminologist
Charles Logan makes the case for commercial operation of prisons
and jails as an alternative to the government's monopoly. On
philosophical, economic, legal, and practical grounds, Logan argues
a compelling case for the private and commercial operation of
prisons. He critically examines all objections raised by opponents,
and concludes that while private prisons face many potential
problems, they do so primarily because they are prisons, not
because they are private. Historically, the record of private
ownership and operation of corrections facilities has been
bleak--ridden with political corruption, physical abuse of
prisoners, and the single-minded pursuit of profits. This study
demonstrates that this need not be the case. Critiquing the
tendency to contrast private prisons with a hypothetical ideal,
Logan instead compares them with existing public institutions,
arguing that the potential problems attributed to private prisons
are experienced by their public counterparts. The work examines ten
sets of issues, including the propriety, cost, security, and
quantity of prisons, to set out a strong case for the viability of
proprietary prisons.
