Sign our "not-for-sale" petition
http://www.stopthecelloff.org.au/subscribe/index.php?customlist=petition
The State Government wants to privatise two prisons - Cessnock and Parklea. The Government also wants to privatise vital prison functions across the state, including prisoner transport and court security.
Giving our prisons to corporations will guarantee:
- Increases in costs
- Lack of scrutiny and transparency
- Increased risks for the prisoners and the surrounding communities
Essential parts of our justice system should not be sold to corporations to run at a profit.
Help us tell the State Government not to privatise our prisons by signing the petition below.
In two weeks, we will be personally delivering the petition to the Minister.
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About stop the cell-off
NSW prison officers oppose these plans because we do not believe corporations should be trusted with a fundamental part of the justice system.
Join us in our campaign to keep prisons in public hands.
What Are Private Prisons?
Large multinational corporations run private prisons for profit.
These companies typically enter into agreements with local, state or federal governments that commit prisoners to their facilities and then have to pay a per diem or monthly rate for each prisoner in that facility.
This means the more people in prison and the longer they are there for, the more money these private companies make. The result: over-crowded prisons that are poorly managed for profit.
Who will buy our prisons?
- GEO – previously known as Wackenhut this is the second largest prison company in the US, and currently runs Junee Correctional Centre – the only privately run prison in NSW.
- Group 4 Securicor (G4S) – previously known as Group 4 Falck, G4S now owns US company Wackenhut and has the contract to run Australia’s immigration detention centres.
- Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) – the largest private corrections company in the world. CCA ran the Metropolitan Women’s Correctional Centre in Victoria until the State Government was forced to reclaim control.
- Australasian Correctional Management (ACM) – is a private company owned by Wackenhut, which ran Australia’s immigration detention centres until 2003.
- Australian Integrated Management Services (AIMS) – recently lost the Acacia Prison contract in WA due to serious under performance and budget blow-outs.
- Serco – a British company that has been criticised in the UK for running prisons with appalling disciplinary and safety records.
The Risks
- Frequent escapes are commonplace.
In the case of the Victorian Metropolitan Woman’s Correctional Centre, the Government was forced to take control of the prison after repeated escapes, severe contract breaches including inadequate staffing, a lack of proper security services, rampant illicit drugs and excessive lockdowns.
- Assaults increase.
A 2001 US Department of Justice study showed that in comparable prisons, private facilities had a 49 per cent higher assault rate on staff and a 65 per cent higher assault rate on other prisoners.
- Higher likelihood of prisoner recidivism.
Recent research demonstrates that private prison inmates have a significantly greater risk of committing more crimes after release than those in public prisons.
- More complaints.
Junee Prison in NSW, which is run by GEO Group, has consistently been the subject of significantly more complaints to the Ombudsman than any other correctional facility in the state.
- Private prisons perform poorly.
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