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This monograph is intended to present the relevant issues in the debate over prison privatisation, examine the international experience, and to present the facts regarding the first private prison in South Africa. The research was conducted using primary documents from the governments involved, information downloaded from the Internet, and secondary materials obtained in South Africa, London, and Washington DC. In South Africa, a great deal of information was available from the University of Natal and the University of Cape Town. In London, valuable insights and materials were gained from the International Centre for Prison Studies at Kings College of Law as well as the Prison Reform Trust. The most authoritative books on the topic of prison privatisation were obtained at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC and assisted in providing the framework for examining the various arguments, taking into account the motivations and biases contained in many of them.
This documentary evidence was supplemented by semi-structured interviews conducted in South Africa. The Department of Correctional Services and the Department of Public Works were very co-operative. The managing directors of Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts and of South African Custodial Services were both gracious and co-operative in their assistance. The management and staff at the Bloemfontein prison gave of their time during a very busy period and afforded the author a full tour of the nearly completed facility. Input was also obtained from various dedicated and helpful academics and prison researchers in South Africa, as well as the tireless Judge J. J. Fagan, Inspecting Judge for prisons.
Chapter two provides an overview of the prison system as it has developed in the modern era, and a discussion of the current state of South African prisons. Chapter three defines the concept of prison privatisation and traces its development. The major issues of the prison privatisation debate are presented as well as a summary of the arguments both for and against prison privatisation. Chapter four presents the experiences of the three countries which have been most involved with prison privatisation: the United States, Australia, and United Kingdom. Chapter five presents the development of prison privatisation in South Africa and the facts regarding the first private prison ever to be opened in Africa. Chapter six concludes with some recommendations for encouraging the positive development of South Africa’s new privatisation projects.
This monograph is important because prison is an important part of criminal justice, and the criminal justice system is a crucial part of preserving democracy in South Africa. The prison system has an under-researched and often misunderstood role in the provision of order in any country, and particularly in South Africa. The South African prison system is in desperate need of reform, as it is currently struggling to cope with a booming prison population and declining standards of care. Prison privatisation is an extremely controversial topic in every country where it has been attempted, yet the South African government has chosen to explore its use. For these reasons, special attention should be focused on any development in the field of correctional services in South Africa.
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