Efficiency and responsibility of private sector in private prison management

There are many controversial and interesting issues related to the involvement of private sector in prison management. However, this article has paid attention to some topics concerning the establishment of a new prison with private management. This approach has required constituting a proceeding of establishment from Government's decision until the commencement date of operation. This article aims to identify major trends in the relation between private and public prisons and success in management of these prisons over the last 30 years. Private contractors had promised to deliver their services in the field of incarceration for less money and more efficiency than public prisons. That statement has raised a question about effectiveness and subsequently accountability of private sector in the field in which every state has a major role. Measures for comparing two kinds of prison management were not established for a long time and many evaluations were not properly achieved. However, some recently accomplished researches have given valid facts as a basis for an adequate comparison. Accordingly, a comparison between first privately managed prison and a first reformed public prison in Australia has been presented in this article. The article also reflects a dilemma about the questions whether it is possible that private sector achieves better quality, savings for the state and profit for itself. In addition to this, special attention is devoted to the difference between allocation of punishment and management of punishment and the role of private sector in the latter.