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George Drinken, a 28 year old remand prisoner at Group 4's Port Phillip prison, was found hanged in his cell on 30 October 1997. His was the first death at the 600 bed prison which opened on 10 September. At the time of Mr Drinken’s death, the prison held around 420 prisoners. It is alleged that during the day before Mr Drinken’s hanging, there were at least four violent incidents in his unit.

On 18 August, at the opening ceremony for Port Phillip, Victoria’s third private prison, Mr Bill McGrath, Minister for Corrections, heralded a new era in correctional facilities and said that it would set new standards, offering a good balance between humane, modern living standards and firm correctional policy.

But prisoners’ advocacy groups have raised concerns with the Government, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and the companies that both Port Phillip - and the recently opened Fulham Correctional Centre run by Wackenhut’s ACM - have cell windows which provide multiple hanging points. There are six horizontal metal bars on the inside of 580 cell windows at Port Phillip and 490 of the windows at Fulham. This design contravenes suicide prevention recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

In a letter to Coburg/Brunswick Community Legal Centre on 25 September 1997, Dave McDonnell, Group 4's director at Port Phillip, said that the accommodation units were “of a high standard”. He added that, at the prison’s public open day, some observers had even criticised the facilities for being too good. Karen Linstrom, a senior Group 4 prison officer, allegedly told lawyers that the windows were built to Government specifications but that if she was given A$600,000, she would happily screen all the bars.

Concerns have also been raised about Port Phillip’s internal classification system, its practice of not separating remand and sentenced prisoners, inexperienced staff (only 30 per cent have any related corrections experience), inadequate staffing levels and the quality and consistency of training. Six Group 4 recruits on a staff training course were sacked on 24 October for failing probity checks.

Asia/Pacific report

Governments in the Asia/Pacific region have been watching prison privatisation develop in the US, Australia and the UK. But according to delegates attending the Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators (APCCA) in Kuala Lumpur from 15 to 19 September 1997, private sector involvement in their respective countries has, so far, mainly been limited to prison industries.

Malaysia

Even though postal services, telecoms, power utilities and highways have been privatised, there is still some debate about whether prisons should be fully privatised. The Government is not yet convinced of the merits. Although the Prison Department is aware of criticisms levelled at public sector provision, it does not believe that privatisation has all the answers.

But the private sector is involved in designing and building new prisons and the first facility is under construction. Urban Development Authority Holdings is building Sunghai Buloh prison in exchange for land in Kuala Lumpur on which a former prison is situated. The new prison will not be privately managed.

The Prison Department also has contracts with companies to set up workshops and manufacture products within prisons, but all other services are Government-run.

Cambodia

Only once has the Government tried to privatise part of the correctional system. In 1995, a catering contract at the Kompong Speu prison had to be cancelled after the company ignored the Government’s specifications on the amount, and nutritional level, of the food to be provided. As a result, prisoners suffered serious illnesses connected with malnutrition. The fraud created shockwaves amongst concerned national and international organisations and no further contracts have been let.

Apart from a small sewing project at one prison, there have been no vocational training or work projects. But the Bureau of Prisons is now developing a national plan and is willing to allow community or private organisations, as well as international non-governmental organisations, to establish projects. The Australian-Cambodian Criminal Justice Assistance Project will initially be providing vocational training in a number of prisons and this will provide a model for the rest.

Hong Kong, China

Since 1988, the private sector has been involved in providing purposeful work in Hong Kong prisons, although its involvement is with less than one per cent of the prison population.This is now likely to increase. Based on experience in the US and Canada, there is also the possibility of private sector involvement in support services, particularly health care.

Although other Government services have been privatised, the Correctional Services Department believes that contracting out custodial functions simply for the sake of cost savings is not the best way to meet its objectives. In the short term, it is unlikely that there will be a need or a case for hiving off rehabilitation or throughcare services. The Government also believes that the public would object to full prison privatisation.

Japan

All prisons are Government run and, according to the Prisons Department, these have a good reputation for effective and efficient administration. The public does not advocate private involvement in the running of prisons.

Japan’s Penal Code requires convicted prisoners to work. The Government believes that there are pros and cons of relying on the private sector, which provides work in some prisons.

Republic of Korea

The Government’s view is that the public interest would suffer from privatisation as a result of companies’ pursuit of profits. The Korean Institute of Criminology has made an initial study of privatisation and the Government will eventually consider the issue more fully.

Thailand

For some years, private companies have been allowed to use prison labour. There are now seven firms employing prisoners in gem cutting, making umbrellas, files, dresses and artificial flowers, as well as electrical wiring.

The Thai correctional system has faced a dramatic increase in its prisoner population while the Government has placed restrictions on employing more staff and encouraged contracting out. Currently, staff/prisoner ratios are around 1:30. Staff shortages have led to security problems and some programmes being stopped. In 1995, the Department of Corrections proposed that 1,779 private security guards should be used to guard prison perimeters so that state-employed guards could be used for other tasks. The Government is still considering the proposal as it believes that the public is concerned about the potential lack of accountability.

It does, however, recognise the advantages of private sector involvement and this will be expanded to other correctional services after further evaluation.

India

Privatisation has not been considered in a strategic way and, in any event, the Government would have to introduce enabling legislation to privatise prisons. Some non- governmental organisations have been involved in the training of prisoners and the private sector is being encouraged to participate in the management of prison industries and vocational training. For now, privatised security and escort services have been ruled out of consideration.

UNITED STATES

New grants, new prisons

Forty‑nine states, the District of Columbia and three territories have been awarded over $400 million in new grants from the federal Department of Justice to help build or expand correctional facilities for violent adult and juvenile offenders. This includes over $235m provided under the Truth‑in‑Sentencing Incentive Programme to states where sentencing reform has been enacted to ensure that violent offenders serve at least 85 per cent of the sentence imposed. The private sector is expected to benefit from the grants.

The grants, awarded in October, can also be used to construct or enhance facilities for non‑violent offenders in an effort to create space for violent offenders. To date, over $859 million has been awarded to state and local jurisdictions to assist in the confinement of serious violent offenders. President Clinton has requested over $710m for these purposes in the 1998 financial year.

Texas already booming

Texas’ policy of getting tough on criminals has led to the prison population rising from 48,000 in 1990 to 144,600. Prisons are filling up much faster than expected. Parole for violent offenders is at its lowest for 20 years and prisoners are expected to serve up to 90 per cent of their sentences.

The state’s Criminal Justice Policy Council reported that, in the past year, the number of prisoners released on parole dropped by 13 per cent. Between September 1996 and June 1997, the number of paroles that were revoked increased by 261 per cent.

Plans are now being considered to increase prison space so the state can accept prisoners within 45 days of sentencing. The state’s options include contracting with counties or private prisons for space and using $125.7m in available bond money to build more prisons. The bond money could go towards the construction of more maximum security facilities.

Cruel and unusual

A youth development centre which opened at Pahokee, Florida in January 1997 and run by Correctional Services Corporation (CSC) has been criticised by a judge for inflicting cruel and unusual punishment.

In July, youngsters told Dade County Circuit Judge Thomas Petersen that they had been locked in solitary confinement, stripped down to their underwear or left naked, and prohibited from sitting down or falling asleep. They complained of being locked in their cells for up to 16 hours a day. During his visit, the judge found skimpy, "absolutely inedible" meals. "No meal or meat is ever served which requires cutting," he told the media

The facility, which is designed for moderate risk young offenders, has razor wire‑topped fences and heavy, locking doors. According to Judge Peterson that is too much for offenders such as a 13 year‑old trespasser who had never before been sentenced to so much as community control

The judge concluded that the facility was at best unsuitable for many of the 350 teenagers in its care ‑ and at worst, abusive. He wanted to send as many of them as possible to more suitable facilities but judges cannot specify where juvenile offenders serve their sentences. Once sentenced, the Department of Juvenile Justice decides where offenders are sent.

The company has denied both the youngsters’ version of the regime and the judge’s allegations.

CSC changed its name from Esmor following the company’s loss of a contract to manage the Elizabeth, New Jersey immigration detention centre.

Conflict, not savings in Florida

Instead of saving taxpayers money and rehabilitating prisoners, prison privatisation has caused conflict between the Florida corrections system and private companies, according to a new report by Florida’s Office of Program Analysis and Government Accountability (OPAGA). The legislative watchdog also claims that the Department of Corrections and the Corrections Privatization Commission “have not worked co-operatively so that the legislature can reduce costs and identify effective approaches. Instead of using privatization as a tool to increase the efficiency of corrections services delivery, the Department and the Commission have moved toward operating a dual corrections system that may be duplicative."

Five private prisons now hold some 3,946 prisoners under contracts worth $84m. By law, private prison running costs have to be seven per cent cheaper than the state’s. But the Department of Corrections has accused the companies of taking the most desirable offenders and measuring their savings against outdated cost projections. The OPAGA has called on the state governor to intervene and make the two sides co-operate

Donations in Virginia irrelevant

Correctional Services Corporation (CSC) thought it had won preferred bidder status for a contract to build and run a high security juvenile prison at Suffolk, Virginia when it made the lowest bid and came first in an evaluation process. But CCA - ranked third in the evaluation after CSC and Wackenhut - received a letter of intent from the state even though its bid was $2.19m higher than CSC’s. The state was not obliged to accept the lowest bid and the Department of Juvenile Justice says that CCA was chosen as its bid was superior.

But CSC claims that the state’s explanation is inadequate. An initial screening, which was to count 90 per cent towards the decision, awarded CCA 105 points and CSC 109. Then a departmental comMittee review (to count ten per cent) gave CCA 97 points, CSC 68 and Wackenhut 45. The final decision was also based upon officials’ visits to CCA-run juvenile facilities in Tennessee and Florida. CCA is already building Virginia’s first private prison, a 1,500 bed medium security facility. Shortly before the state’s latest decision, CCA bought a 205 acre plot of land south of Suffolk for $425,000.

Donations

Details of the prison companies’ recent political donations in Virginia have emerged. This year, CCA gave $6,000 each to the Democrats’ Commonwealth Victory Fund, the Joint Republican Caucus and the Virginia State Legislative Black Caucus. CCA’s chairman Doctor C. Crants gave $2,500 to the Gilmore for Governor Fund and $2,500 to the Beyer for Governor Fund. Thomas Beasley, CCA founder and now a director, gave $2,500 to the Gilmore Fund. Since 1996, CSC’s donations have totalled just $2,000, shared amongst six politicians.

A spokesperson for the Department of Juvenile Justice said that CCA’s donations had no bearing on the state’s decision. Meanwhile, a lobbyist for Wackenhut says that his client is not worried since it believes that the contract will have to be scrapped or rebid anyway due to the falling demand for juvenile places.

Coalition’s campaign steps up

“The days of the privateers’ movements going unchecked are very much over,” according to the Corrections and Criminal Justice Coalition (CCJC). Now representing 180,000 correctional officers across the US, its September conference agreed a series of new anti-privatisation initiatives, particularly in Tennessee, Oklahoma, Montana, Florida and the District of Columbia. The CCJC’s new pamphlet, Prison Privatization: A Public Safety Risk? is available from: CCJC, 7700

Leesburg Pike, Suite 421, Falls Church, Virginia 22043.

CANADA

Ontario moves ahead

The Ontario Government is inviting companies to discuss the design, construction, financing and operation of one of its two new 1,200‑bed prisons in a bid to cut costs. The Ontario Public Service Employees Union has called the plan "short‑sighted and stupid". At C$125 per prisoner per day, Ontario has the second highest costs in Canada, after Yukon.

SOUTH AFRICA

A law, a ship and an amnesty

Enabling legislation for prison privatisation has begun the parliamentary process. A draft Bill says that companies will have to adhere to international conventions and treat prisoners “with dignity and in a humane manner”. They will also be able to apply for their prisons to be declared essential services, thus making strikes by staff unlawful. Private prisons will be run by a company-employed director but a government controller will monitor the contract. All company staff will have to sign a secrecy clause in their contract. The Minister of Corrections will retain emergency powers in the event of a prison falling out of control.

n On a recent visit to England, corrections officials were so impressed with the Prison Service’s use of a ship to house prisoners, the South African Government is now considering the idea. The release of 45,000 prisoners to ease the critical prison overcrowding problem is also being considered.

AUSTRALIA

Victoria withholds fees

The state Government of Victoria has withheld 20 per cent of a performance fee from Corrections Corporation of Australia due to drug problems and other operational concerns at Metropolitan Womens Prison which opened in August 1996. The Corrections Minister has stressed that the problems only related to the prison’s first six months.

But problems have continued. The prison suffered further incidents in October, including several stabbings and overdoses of drugs and other substances. The company has denied newspaper reports of unnamed prison officers alleging that the prison is out of control. Police officers have complained of difficulties in dealing with incidents at the prison, claiming that the authorities do not report all criminal offences. A Government spokesperson stated that: “It is not uncommon with any new set-up to have a testing of the waters between inmates and staff. But prison management has taken steps and is doing all it can to ensure inmates understand who is in control and who is responsible for running the place.”

Wackenhut wins again

Victoria’s Public Corrections Enterprise (CORE) has awarded Wackenhut a three year contract (with a possible extension) worth US$1.4m a year to provide primary health care services to 90 per cent of the state’s public prisons. The company will take over on 1 January 1998.

Tasmania considers

Privatisation is one of the key issues to be considered by a Legislative Council Select Committee of inquiry into Tasmania’s correctional services and sentencing policies.

n The management of a remand centre being built in Hobart could be market tested if negotiations with trade unions do not result in cost savings.

NEW ZEALAND

Transportation experiment

The New Zealand Government is launching a pilot scheme using private security firms to transport prisoners between police stations, courts, prisons and forensic psychiatric units. Prisoners attending court will also be guarded by private guards. Police officers’ custodial functions will not be affected. The scheme will operate in the Auckland and Northland regions. In 1996, the Department of Corrections used private firms for these services when public sector staff took industrial action.

Prison Privatisation Report International