Private Prisons

What are private prisons?

Since the early 1990s, British Governments have issued contracts to private firms for both the construction and the day-to-day running of prisons.

The privatisation of some prison services has been pursued by the current Government to cope with the problems of overcrowding in the UK's prisons and to spread the costs of interning offenders. The role of the private sector in the criminal justice system is now substantial, and shows no signs of abating.

At present there are 11 private prisons contractually managed by private companies such as GSL and Serco. These are Altcourse (GSL), Ashfield (Serco), Bronzefield (Kalyx – previously UKDS), Doncaster (Serco), Dovegate (Serco), Forest Bank (Kalyx), Lowdham Grange (Serco), Parc (G4S Justice Services), Peterborough (Kalyx), Rye Hill (GSL) and Wolds (GSL).

HMP Altcourse was the first designed, constructed, managed and financed private prison in the UK, opening its doors to prisoners on 1st December 1997.


Background

Britain's prison population has been growing for many years, exposing the insufficiency of the existing prisons estate.

The Conservative Government took the first steps toward privatising prisons in the early 1990s by issuing short-term contracts to security companies to operate a limited number of publicly owned prisons. At that time, private involvement was seen as intrinsically superior to traditional public provision, and ideology featured alongside cost as a motivating factor. However, two of the four initially contracted-out prisons, Buckley Hall and Blakenhurst, have since come back into the hands of the Prison Service.

The Labour Government has pursued the use of the private sector, following the recommendations of reports such as Lord Laming's report into the management of the Prison Service and having monitored the use of private prisons in the US, pursuing this agenda through the Private Finance Initiative.

These are so-called DCMF prisons: they are Designed, Constructed, Managed and Financed by the private sector. The contracts run for 25 years, after which the building becomes the property of the Prison Service.

Private prisons are subject to penalties for failure to meet performance targets set by the Government. Conversely, the Prison Service announced in December 2003 that Dartmoor and Liverpool prisons could be handed over to the private sector if they fail to hit performance targets in the next five years.


Controversies

Concerns have been expressed about the quality of service provided by private prisons, with a particular criticism that quality is being reduced to improve efficiency.

A June 2003 report by the National Audit Office expressed deep concern about a number of aspects of the service provided by PFI prisons. It pointed to a lack of experienced staff and a high staff turnover. As a result, it argued, the environment in private prisons is generally less safe than in publicly-run prisons, where prison officers on average have more experience.

The report also warned that the terms of the contracts under which private prisons are run have not been properly refined, and concerns have been expressed about the commercial confidentiality that surrounds the terms under which prisons are being run. Nonetheless, the report concluded on the whole that private sector involvement had benefited the Prison Service, through competition and through the experience of managing commercial PFI contracts.

There is also concern about the level of public grants provided to help with the running of these prisons, which some feel are being otherwise directed away from prison improvement. It has been claimed that there is a trend in private prisons to increase electronic surveillance of inmates in order to reduce staff numbers.

It is noteworthy, however, that many of the private prisons are among the best run in the system, according to reports from the Chief Inspector of Prisons. It is also questionable how else the government would be able to succeed in funding the construction of the prisons necessary to house the ever-increasing prison population. However, when the Government sought a private operator for the failing Brixton prison, not one potential bidder came forward.

Some also claim that not only is the concept of prison care antithetical to the notion of commercial business but that it is morally inappropriate to profit from the punishment of offenders.


Statistics

By the end of June 2014 the demand for prison spaces is projected to increase to between 88,800 and 101,900.

Projected prison population figures:

High Medium Low
2008 83,600 82,700 81,800
2009 89,400 87,800 85,800
2010 93,000 90,500 87,500
2011 94,200 90,900 86,900
2012 96,400 92,100 87,200
2013 99,100 93,800 88,000
2014 101,900 95,600 88,800

Source: Ministry of Justice – August 2007

A new capacity-building programme has been put in place to deliver 8,000 new prison places by 2012.
Just over 4,000 of these places will be provided by new prisons. The remaining places will be delivered by expansions at existing prisons.

The Government has made a commitment that the operation of new capacity will be roughly shared between the private and public sectors.

Source: NOMS – 2007

Quotes

"We're going to transform the prison system. We're going to knock down old prisons that don't work…make prisoners do a proper programme of education and training……and open prisons up to the companies and community groups that make a difference."

Conservative leader David Cameron, speaking at the Institute of Directors, April 2008

"Training of prisoners plays a vital role and the prime objective is to stop re-offending by teaching them skills that will help their reintegration into society."

GSL - 2008