Privately run prisons the trend in Australia

MELBOURNE (JP): When a service traditionally provided by the state is privatized, there is always fear and insecurity over whether a private company can perform the tasks as competently and, more importantly, without overwhelming self-interest.

Prison management is an acute example since, at first glance, the clients in this case are some of the most vulnerable sections of the community. Yet privately run prisons have been in operation for about a decade in the United States. In fact, 4 percent of the prison population in that country is now housed in privately-run prisons.

Australia began to open its doors to privatization of prison management in 1990 when U.S.-owned Corrections Corporations of Australia won the contract to run Borallon Corrections Center near Ipswich, some 60 kilometers south of Brisbane.

The move did not go without protest from the community. Among those expressing concern was a prominent high court judge, Justice Michael Kirby, who called for strict monitoring of private management as they might put profit before moral and legal obligations.

Since then, six more prisons have been contracted out to private companies -- one more in Queensland, one in New South Wales, one in South Australia and three in Victoria -- run by Australasian Correctional Management, Group 4 Prison Services and Corrections Corporations of Australia.

In Victoria, the Metropolitan Women's Correctional Center in Deer Park, an outer suburb of Melbourne, was opened in August 1996. Since then another has begun operation and one is under construction in the state.

Amendments to the Corrections Act 1986 were necessary to give the Minister for Corrections powers to enter into contracts with non-government parties for the provision of correctional services and enable such services to be provided on a contractual basis. The Act was thus amended in 1993 and 1994, complemented by Corrections Regulations 1988.

John Van Groningen, the commissioner for Correctional Services in Victorian Department of Justice, put the privatization in legal context.

"The prisoners are still prisoners of the state," he said. "The government is still responsible for their welfare. The difference between a privately run prison and a publicly run one is that, instead of hiring a person, the government hires a company to take care of the prisoners."

Which means the state is still responsible for any deaths, assaults or escapes.

In Victoria, the Office of the Commissioner classifies and sets all sentence management when a prisoner has been sentenced by the court. The three existing prisons -- two privately run and one publicly run -- have no control over what prisoners they receive.

Neither do they have any influence on the movement of prisoners from one prison to another, or over the dates of entry and release of their inmates.

The service they provide is all specified in the contract, said Van Groningen, who admitted the privately run prisons played an important role in improving the state's entire prison system.

"We are now able to set benchmarks," he said. "For example, since the first privately run prison is a women's prison, we looked at the last three years of the women's prison in terms of the number of assaults, escapes, deaths, hours in cells and hours out of cells, then determined the benchmarks for the private providers.

"If they do not meet the requirements, then we have the right to withhold payment to them."

One of the requirements for both private and public providers is that all entering prisoners must be assessed medically and psychologically in the first 24 hours. This is necessary to identify prisoners who are suicidal or mentally disturbed. Failure to do so carries penalties.

Monitors appointed by the Office of the Commissioner regularly visit all prisons. They spend a week shift in different prisons. That way no monitors can be too familiar with one particular prison. The monitors' reports are then tabled and assessed.

What happens if monitors overlook practices contravening the contract specifications? What recourse do the prisoners have?

Prisoners have access to the ombudsman, their lawyers and prisoner support associations. They can lodge their complaints through these agents, who then will pass them on to Van Groningen's authority.

Not much, it seems, can slip through the net.

Van Groningen believes that the entry of private providers into the field has been beneficial. They have been able to operate at lower costs and more efficiently.

But the public has to accept this statement on faith because, apart from the Office of the Commissioner, nobody can have access to the exact figures. They cannot be revealed to ensure confidentiality in the tender process when new three-year contracts are offered at the end of the current five-year ones.

Van Groningen said this was crucial in maintaining the quality and level of innovation.

The cost of a prisoner to the state is between US$15,000 and $60,000 a year, depending on the type of inmate. So far, according to Van Groningen, the private providers have been able to operate on an average of $7,400 less per prisoner per year than their public counterparts.

The entry of private providers introduced competition, which drew innovation and efficiency. "It has made the public providers take notice and improve their quality of service too," he says.

Critics of private prisons have also expressed concern that the mostly non-unionized nature of employment there would lead to lower pay and harsher conditions. Van Groningen countered that private providers have to compete for good staff, and for that they have to offer attractive wages and conditions.

All correctional staff have to be approved by the Office of the Commissioner, who will verify police checks and completion of required training. The companies have to train their staff to a syllabus and competency level specified by the Office.

By the end of this year, 1,300 of the prison population of 2,500 in Victoria will be in privately run prisons. This is substantial compared to 500 of Queensland's 2,500 prisoners, 600 of New South Wales' 6,000 prisoners and 100 of South Australia's 2,000 prisoners managed by private providers.

Nationwide, 17 percent of the prison population will be privately managed by year's end. It is clear that private prisons are here to stay. (Dewi Anggraeni)