Prisons & Punishment XXXXXXXXXXAssessment 2 Research Essay Questions 1. Assess the global move towards privatization of prisons using utilitarian principles of punishment. 2. Are we moving away from...

Topic chosen: Assess the global move towards privatization of prisons using utilitarian
principles of punishment.
Prison crowding is one of the biggest problems that some of the countries are facing in
today’s world. With the rise in number of prisoners and the lack of space in the public prisons,
the government has started to look for an alternative. One alternative that is increasingly being
used in some of the countries is the concept of private prisons. This means a prison held and run
by private industry.
Privatization of prison dates back to 15
th
or 16
th
century and it started in England.
Recently after 1980’s, the trend has restarted in the world with The United States taking the lead.
The main reason behind the same is given as the surge in the population inside the prison. In
2007, it was the first time in complete history of US that more than 1 person out of every 100
adult is behind the bars. At this time, federal and government have to rely on private prisons.
More than 7% of the entire persons behind the bars are living in private prisons. Most of the
private prisons across the world are for profit and hence they try to maximize their profits.
(Cheung 204)
Other reasons for the privatization of the prisons are low cost, more security in and
outside the prisons, types of services that are provided by private prisons and hence the quality
increases. The private prisons are able to manage more number of prisoners at a point of time
and that to be without much of problems inside the prison. It is just because of these benefits that
the law makers and government officials are able to hand over such huge number of prisoners.
(Reisig 2009)
Principle of utility in terms of punishment means the penalties should be in proportion to
the severity of the crime done by the person. The punishment given to a person should have
some utility. Without any utility there is no point in punishing someone. One utility can be to
prevent such type of crime in future.
There are many advantages of private prisons and hence the number of private prisons is
on the rise in the complete world. Without doing the cost benefit analysis, no decision can be
taken. According to Cody Mason (2013), most of the public prisons have more number of
prisoners than their full capacity. This is true worldwide. With increase in the crime in the global
scenario it is important for the government to prevent such crimes by pushing the criminals
behind the prisons. Hence it calls for more number of prisons in any country. Without proper
infrastructure, it would be nearly impossible to achieve the same. Hence there is a utility for the
government to back these private prisons and that is why many countries are utilizing private
prisons and such detention centers for these prisoners. This would help the government to
decrease the cost of constructing prison and the problem of overcrowding. These developments
have helped not only government but also many private companies running these prisons....