DOCSLIB.ORG

Safety and Cost Effectiveness of Private Prisons Private of Effectiveness Cost and Safety

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Safety and Cost Effectiveness of Private Prisons Private of Effectiveness Cost and Safety Safety and Cost Effectiveness of Private Prisons Victorian Auditor -General’s Office — Level 31 / 35 Collins Street Melbourne Vic 3000 T 03 8601 7000 [email protected] www.audit.vic.gov.au — Safety and Cost Effectiveness of March 2018 Private Prisons March 2018 2017–18: 15 Independent assurance report to Parliament 2017–18: 15 13353 VAGO_Safety and Cost Effectiveness of Private Prisons_Cover.pdf | Page 1 of 1 13353 VAGO_Safety and Cost Effectiveness of Private Prisons_Cover.pdf | Page 1 of 1 Safety and Cost Effectiveness of Private Prisons Independent assurance report to Parliament Ordered to be published VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT PRINTER March 2018 PP no 384, Session 2014–18 This report is printed on Monza Recycled paper. Monza Recycled is certified Carbon Neutral by The Carbon Reduction Institute (CRI) in accordance with the global Greenhouse Gas Protocol and ISO 14040 framework. The Lifecycle Analysis for Monza Recycled is cradle to grave including Scopes 1, 2 and 3. It has FSC Mix Certification combined with 55% recycled content. ISBN 978 1 925678 14 7 The Hon Bruce Atkinson MLC The Hon Colin Brooks MP President Speaker Legislative Council Legislative Assembly Parliament House Parliament House Melbourne Melbourne Dear Presiding Officers Under the provisions of section 16AB of the Audit Act 1994, I transmit my report Safety and Cost Effectiveness of Private Prisons. Yours faithfully Andrew Greaves Auditor-General 29 March 2018 Contents Audit overview ............................................................................................................. 7 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 8 Findings .............................................................................................................................................. 8 Recommendations ........................................................................................................................... 12 Responses to recommendations ..................................................................................................... 13 1 Audit context ......................................................................................................... 15 Relevant legislation and regulation ........................................................................................ 25 Roles of agencies and associated entities .............................................................................. 26 Previous audits ....................................................................................................................... 29 Why this audit is important .................................................................................................... 29 What this audit examined and how ....................................................................................... 30 Report structure ..................................................................................................................... 30 2 Private prison contract management and performance ...................................... 31 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 31 CV’s scrutiny of operator performance .................................................................................. 32 Prison performance data ........................................................................................................ 36 Prison performance reporting ................................................................................................ 38 Performance results ............................................................................................................... 40 3 Safety and security of private prisons ................................................................... 45 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 45 Serious incidents ..................................................................................................................... 46 Security performance ............................................................................................................. 51 Safety performance ................................................................................................................ 53 Violence-reduction strategies................................................................................................. 7 7 The role of intelligence in safety and security ........................................................................ 80 4 Prison costs ............................................................................................................ 83 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 83 Total system costs .................................................................................................................. 83 Prison cost comparisons ......................................................................................................... 85 Why do private prisons cost the state less to operate? ......................................................... 87 Comparing prison cost elements ............................................................................................ 88 Actual costs under the new contracts .................................................................................... 88 State-funded capital works ..................................................................................................... 89 5 Negotiating new private prison contracts ............................................................. 91 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 92 Options analysis ...................................................................................................................... 92 Management of negotiations ................................................................................................. 95 Demonstrating value for money ........................................................................................... 102 Negotiation outcomes and new contracts ........................................................................... 105 Victorian Auditor-General’s Report Safety and Cost Effectiveness of Private Prisons 5 Appendix A. Audit Act 1994 section 16—submissions and comments ................... 109 Appendix B. Service delivery outcomes and key performance indicators .............. 119 Appendix C. SDO 23 Case Management .................................................................. 127 Appendix D. Improvements in new private prison contracts .................................. 129 Acronyms and abbreviations ACI Australasian Correctional Investment Ltd CMB Contract management branch CCTV Closed‐circuit television CV Corrections Victoria CVIU Corrections Victoria Intelligence Unit DJR Department of Justice and Regulation (and its predecessor, Department of Justice) DPC Department of Premier and Cabinet DTF Department of Treasury and Finance GEO The GEO Group Australia Pty Ltd G4S G4S Custodial Services Pty Ltd IMR Internal management review JARO Justice Assurance Review Office (formerly the Office of Correctional Services Review) KPI Key performance indicator MAP Melbourne Assessment Prison MRC Metropolitan Remand Centre OHS Occupational health and safety OCSR Office of Correctional Services Review OPCAT Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment OV Occupational violence PIMS Prisoner Information Management System PIU Prison intelligence unit PPP Public–private partnership PSC Public Sector Comparator PPRF Private Prison Reporting Framework SDO Service delivery outcome SSU Security Standards Unit VAGO Victorian Auditor‐General’s Office 6 Safety and Cost Effectiveness of Private Prisons Victorian Auditor‐General’s Report Audit overview Victoria’s prison system faces significant challenges and risks: Male prisoner numbers increased by approximately 50 per cent over the last seven years, including significant growth in remand (unsentenced) prisoners. The prisoner population is increasingly complex, with mental health conditions, drug and alcohol issues, and chronic illnesses. Across the system, 43.6 per cent of prisoners returned to prison within two years in 2016–17. Young prisoners, prisoners with disabilities and prisoners of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background are over-represented. Private prisons are part of the broader prison system in Victoria and, as such, are not immune to the challenges posed by a growing and increasingly complex prisoner population. Victoria’s privately operated prisons accommodated around one third of the state’s male prisoners in December 2017. The safe, secure and cost-efficient operation of these private prisons is essential, both for the effective functioning of Victoria’s corrections system and for community safety. Corrections Victoria (CV), a division of the Department of Justice and Regulation (DJR), is responsible for managing the contracts with the private prison operators to ensure the safe custody and welfare of prisoners. In this audit, we examined two of the three privately operated prisons
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Practice Title of the Paper Privatisation As an Instrument of Social Welfare Pr
    4th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP4) June 26-28, 2019 – Montréal Panel T05P12 Session 2 Social Welfare Provision: Practice Title of the paper Privatisation as an instrument of social welfare provision: The case of prisons privatisation in Australia Authors Deirdre O’Neill Valarie Sands Graeme Hodge Monash University, Australia [email protected] Date of presentation June 27, 2019 1 4th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP4) June 26-28, 2019 – Montréal Privatisation as an instrument of social welfare provision: the case of prisons privatisation in Victoria, Australia Associate Professor Deirdre O’Neill [email protected] Dr Valarie Sands [email protected] Professor Graeme Hodge [email protected] Abstract Since the 1970s, many international jurisdictions have embraced private sector solutions to problems of social welfare provision. Prisons, once regarded as a core responsibility of the public sector, have not been quarantined from this process. In Australia, the state’s monopoly of correctional services ended in 1990 with the opening of the first privately operated prison in the northern state of Queensland. Now, nearly three decades later, Australia has the highest proportion of prisoners in privately managed prisons in the world. This paper analyses the experience of one Australian state, Victoria, which has made the most extensive use of a range of privatisation mechanisms to finance, build and manage that state’s prison system. Taking an historical perspective and drawing upon publicly available documents, the paper traces the evolution of prison management in Victoria from a traditional bureaucratic model in which the state had complete responsibility to one in which the private sector now has a major role.
    [Show full text]
  • Review of the Management and Operation of Victoria's Corrections System
    Review of the management and operation of Victoria's corrections system Review of the management and operation of Victoria's corrections system The Victorian Government has vested the State Services Authority with functions designed to foster the development of an efficient, integrated and responsive public sector which is highly ethical, accountable and professional in the ways it delivers services to the Victorian community. The key functions of the Authority are to: • identify opportunities to improve the delivery and integration of government services and report on service delivery outcomes and standards; • promote high standards of integrity and conduct in the public sector; • strengthen the professionalism and adaptability of the public sector; and • promote high standards of governance, accountability and performance for public entities. The Authority seeks to achieve its charter by working closely and collaboratively with public sector departments and agencies. contact us at the State Services Authority Email: [email protected] Phone: (03) 9651 1321 Fax: (03) 9651 0747 Postal Address: 3 Treasury Place Melbourne 3002 www.ssa.vic.gov.au © Copyright State Government of Victoria State Services Authority 2012 contents executive summary 1 acronyms 5 1 introduction 7 1.1 terms of reference 7 1.2 review methodology and scope 7 1.3 relationship with other reviews 8 2 background 9 2.1 Department of Justice 9 2.2 Corrections Victoria 9 2.3 community corrections 10 2.4 prisons in Victoria 11 2.5 prisoner placement and categories of prisoners
    [Show full text]
  • PAEC – Inquiry Into the Victorian Government's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
    PAEC – Inquiry into the Victorian Government's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic HEARING, 26 August 2020 Questions on Notice taken by Dr Emma Cassar, Commissioner, Corrections Victoria (1) Verified transcript, page 22: Ms VALLENCE: Thank you so much, Mr Radford. I would like to pass my questions now to Dr Cassar, Corrections Commissioner. Commissioner, in total how many days of lockdown have been served in Victorian prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic? Dr CASSAR: Thanks, Ms Vallence. I do not have those figures in front of me, but I am happy to take that on notice. QoN Response: As lockdowns are applied selectively there is no relevant metric for the total number of days prisons have been subject to lockdown. For example, a particular unit at a prison may go into lockdown in response to a symptomatic prisoner being moved to quarantine or for contact tracing purposes. Lockdowns have assisted with the safe management of the risk of COVID-19 since March. It has been used on these occasions; The Melbourne Assessment Prison, Metropolitan Remand Centre and Port Phillip Prison commenced half day lockdowns across several units in late March 2020 to support physical distancing across the prisons. Loddon Prison was locked down for one day on 3 April 2020. Ravenhall, Hopkins Correctional Centre, Langi Kal Kal, Barwon Prison, Fulham and Loddon were in lockdown from 21 July 2020. All but Fulham and Ravenhall returned to normal operations on 23 July 2020. Fulham returned to normal operations on 24 July; Ravenhall returned to normal operations on 25 July 2020.
    [Show full text]
  • Draft Report
    The Impact on Community Services of Staff and Service Reductions, Privatisation and Outsourcing of Public Services in Australian States Report 1 Report prepared for the Community and Public Sector Union (SPSF Group) Beth Cook, Victor Quirk and William Mitchell June 2012 DRAFT REPORT Centre of Full Employment and Equity The University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia Home Page: http://e1.newcastle.edu.au/coffee Email: [email protected] DRAFT REPORT i Table of Contents Page Heading No. Title Page i Table of Contents ii List of Abbreviations vii List of Tables xi List of Figures xiii List of Boxes xv Terms of Reference xvii Executive Summary xviii Chapter 1 – Introduction 1-14 1.1 Background 1 1.2 The transformation of the Welfare State 4 1.2.1 The Keynesian Welfare State 4 1.2.2 Transformation to the post welfare state: the full employability framework 6 1.3 Research approach and content 11 1.3.1 Research Questions 13 1.3.2 Methodology 13 1.3.3 Structure of the Report 14 Chapter 2 – Fiscal policy and outcomes 15-59 2.1 Introduction 15 2.2 Understanding budget outcomes 17 2.3 Commonwealth-State Financial Relations 18 2.4 Fiscal strategy and outcomes: NSW 20 2.4.1 Fiscal strategy 20 2.4.2 Recent developments in NSW 25 2.4.3 Key fiscal outcomes for NSW 26 2.5 Fiscal strategy and outcomes: Victoria 28 2.5.1 Fiscal strategy 28 2.5.2 Recent developments in Victoria 31 2.5.3 Key fiscal outcomes for Victoria 33 2.6 Fiscal strategy and outcomes: Queensland 35 2.6.1 Fiscal strategy 35 2.6.2 Recent developments in Queensland 36 2.6.3
    [Show full text]
  • Investigation Into Good Practice When Conducting Prison Disciplinary Hearings
    Investigation into good practice when conducting prison disciplinary hearings July 2021 Ordered to be published Victorian government printer Session 2018-21 P.P. No. 247 Accessibility If you would like to receive this publication in an alternative format, please call 9613 6222, using the National Relay Service on 133 677 if required, or email [email protected]. The Victorian Ombudsman pays respect to First Nations custodians of Country throughout Victoria. This respect is extended to their Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge their sovereignty was never ceded. Letter to the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly To The Honourable the President of the Legislative Council and The Honourable the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Pursuant to sections 25 and 25AA of the Ombudsman Act 1973 (Vic), I present to Parliament my Investigation into good practice when conducting prison disciplinary hearings. Deborah Glass OBE Ombudsman 7 July 2021 transmittal letter 1 2 www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au Contents Foreword 4 Conclusions 74 Opportunities to promote fairness Glossary 6 and improve decision-making in the Introduction 8 pre-hearing process 75 Why we investigated 8 Opportunities to promote fairness Jurisdiction 12 and improve decision-making during and after the hearing 76 Terms of reference 12 Promoting fairness for prisoners with a Methodology 12 cognitive impairment or mental illness 77 Procedural fairness and privacy 15 Recommendations 78 Legal and governance framework 16 Key concepts for decision-makers to Appendix
    [Show full text]
  • Can Private Prisons Work for Public Good?
    Outsourcing Community Safety: Can private prisons work for public good? Jesuit October 2017 Social Services Building a Just Society 40years Prisons occupy a unique place in our In addition, the paper considers the potential practical society. They involve a deprivation and policy considerations for Australia, and particularly of liberty and limits on self- Victoria, of the high level of reliance on private prisons, including risks. Chief among these risks is that a determination, and these restrictions corporate emphasis on cost reduction and profit are sanctioned by Government and drivers might adversely affect quality, outcome and supported by the community in the governance standards. But there are other risks also, name of safety and punishment. including that the trend towards private facilities, which can be established relatively quickly to ease any overcrowding, shifts the policy focus away from Freedom is not curtailed lightly– a prison term should alternatives that may ultimately prove more effective be a sentence of last resort, designed to deter, than incarceration. denounce, punish, rehabilitate and protect1. But even as a last resort, it is crucial that the imposition of a While the risks of outsourcing to the private sector period of imprisonment is subject to strict safeguards are clear, and some may argue their mere existence and to ensure fair and humane treatment that is both is sufficient to mandate caution, it remains difficult to ethical and legal. prove those risks have produced adverse outcomes thanks to an almost universal lack of transparency. In the past three decades there has been increased The lack of transparency extends from the terms use of imprisonment across the world, and significant and incentives within contracts to details of inmate changes in the purpose, design and operation of incidents and analysis of longer-term rehabilitation prisons, including privatisation of prison services and outcomes for a particular prison population.
    [Show full text]
  • Corrections Victoria Community Work Partnership Awards 2013
    Corrections Victoria Community Work Partnership Awards 2013 Department of Justice Published by Corrections Victoria, Contact for permission to copy Department of Justice, or for further information: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Corrections Victoria Department of Justice (c) Copyright State of Victoria 2013 GPO Box 123 Department of Justice Melbourne Vic 3001 Authorised by the Commissioner, Telephone +61 3 8684 6600 Corrections Victoria, Facsimile +61 3 8684 6611 Department of Justice, [email protected] 121 Exhibition Street, Melbourne www.justice.vic.gov.au Design by Outsource Design, If you would like to receive this publication in an Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia accessible format, such as large print, please telephone the Strategic Communication Branch, Print managed by Finsbury Green Department of Justice on 03 8684 0332, or the This publication is copyright. Apart from any National Relay Telephone Service (TTY) 13 36 77 use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 or email [email protected] or by individuals for study purposes, no part of this publication may be reproduced without permission. In all cases the source of the material must be acknowledged when reproducing or quoting any part of this publication. ISSN 1835-2820 Cover design: The colours used this year are the colours associated with Corrections Victoria the theme of safety. The overlapping hands and range of colours indicate Community Work Partnership Awards 2013 the diversity of people and organisations involved in forming a successful partnership with a common goal. The hands form a star to celebrate the excellence of the nominated community work projects. The colours overall emerge and then fade into each other, giving a sense of emergence, dynamism, development and creativity.
    [Show full text]
  • CSBA Year in Review 2019/20
    Community Safety Building Authority Year in Review 2019-20 CONTENTS DEPUTY SECRETARY/CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S FOREWORD .................................................. 3 ABOUT THE COMMUNITY SAFETY BUILDING AUTHORITY ............................................................... 4 OUR GROUPS ......................................................................................................................................... 5 OUR STRUCTURE .................................................................................................................................. 6 CSBA AT A GLANCE .............................................................................................................................. 7 OUR ACHIEVEMENTS IN DETAIL .......................................................................................................... 8 FUTURE INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING ............................................................................................ 17 APPENDIX 1 – Our Leadership Group and Advisory Board ................................................................... 18 APPENDIX 2 – Our Clients and Stakeholders ........................................................................................ 19 APPENDIX 3 – Our Projects .................................................................................................................. 20 Page 2 of 20 DEPUTY SECRETARY/ CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S FOREWORD The Community Safety Building Authority Our high-value, high-risk projects have (CSBA) was formed a little
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Report
    19–20 Annual Report Department of Justice and Community Safety Publication information The Department of Justice and Community Safety acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which we work, and pays respect to their Elders past, present and emerging. ‘Aboriginal’ is used as the Department of Justice and Community Safety’s standard reference for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Prior to June 2018, ‘Koori’ was used as the department’s standard reference, and this term continues to be used in some departmental business units, affiliated organisations and documents, including the Koori Justice Unit, the Koori Courts, and the department’s Koori Inclusion Action Plan 2017–2020, Yarrwul Loitjba Yapaneyepuk – Walk the Talk Together. Authorised and published by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne. ISSN 1320-8543 © State of Victoria (Department of Justice and Community Safety) 2020 This report is protected by copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, and those explicitly granted below, all other rights are reserved. Accessibility Also published in an accessible format on www.justice.vic.gov.au. This work, the Department of Justice and Community Safety Annual Report 2019–20, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/. You are free to re-use the work under that licence, on the condition that you credit the State of Victoria (Department of Justice and Community Safety) as author,
    [Show full text]
  • Spring Hill and Otago Correction Facilities: Scope Review Part B
    The Treasury & Department of Corrections Spring Hill and Otago Regional Corrections Facilities Scope Review – Part B Potential Savings to be made in Future Prison Builds May 2007 SHCF AND ORCF CORRECTIONS FACILIITIES SCOPE REVIEW PART B – POTENTIAL SAVINGS TO BE MADE IN FUTURE PRISON BUILDS TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.........................................................................................1 1.1 Question 1: What is Corrections purchasing relative to other jurisdictions and is this appropriate? ........................................................... 1 1.2 Q2. How have and would current policy requirements preclude reasonable lower-cost options?................................................................... 2 1.3 Q3. What are the viable lower-cost options for future builds? How can these be adopted in New Zealand?.............................................................. 3 2 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 4 2.1 Terms of reference....................................................................................4 2.2 Background.............................................................................................. 5 2.3 Review team ............................................................................................ 6 2.4 Sources of information .............................................................................. 8 3 METHODOLOOGY..............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Victorian Prisons Information Booklet
    Victorian Prisons Information Booklet A helpful guide to visiting a friend or family member in prison. defence lawyers defence lawyers Contents General Information For Prison Visitors 4 Barwon Prison 6 Beechworth Correctional Centre 8 Dame Phyllis Frost Centre 8 Dhurringile Prison 10 Fulham Correctional Centre 11 Hopkins Correctional Centre 12 Judy Lazarus Transition Centre 12 Langi Kal Kal Prison 12 Loddon Prison 14 Marngoneet Correctional Centre 15 Melbourne Assessment Prison 15 Metropolitan Remand Centre 16 Port Phillip Prison 17 Tarrengower Prison 18 This material has been sourced from various internet sites and was correct at time of publishing, as of July 2018. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information presented herein and urge people reading this document to confirm information for themselves. This booklet is provided as a guide only and is intended to assist those seeking general information about Victorian prisons. For more specific information, please contact the prison directly. General Information For Prison Visitors Arranging a Visit Identification To visit a prisoner, you must be on the prisoner’s Whenever you visit a prison, a total of 100 points approved visitors list. A prisoner can have up to of identification is required. If you do not have ten people on their list at any one time. It is up tothe suitable identification, you will not be able to visit. prisoner to add you to their list. To add you, Photocopied documents will not be accepted. the prisoner needs your full name, date of birth and address. Suitable Identification 100 points If you are unsure whether you are on a • Current driver’s licence (with photo) prisoner’s approved visitors list or you want • Valid passport • Correctional Services pass to ask a prisoner to add you to their approved • Law card • Consulate ID card • Firearms licence visitors list you can write to the prisoner.
    [Show full text]
  • I an Evaluation of the Efficacy of Corrections Victoria's Assessment Process a Thesis Submitted for the Requirements for the D
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by RMIT Research Repository i An evaluation of the efficacy of Corrections Victoria’s assessment process A thesis submitted for the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Carolyne Thompson B.A. (Psychology) Graduate Diploma Applied Child Psychology Master of Applied Science (Psychology) Discipline of Psychology School of Health Sciences RMIT University 22 March 2013 ii DECLARATION I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that of the author alone; the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to qualify for any other academic award; the content of this thesis is the result of work which has been carried out since the official commencement date of the approved research program; and, any editorial work, paid, or unpaid, carried out by a third party is acknowledged. Ethics procedures and guidelines have been followed throughout the research project. ………………………. Carolyne Thompson 22 March 2013 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Despite popular opinion, the relatively recent acquisition of private bathrooms and televisions in prisons hasn’t resulted in Victorian prisoners residing in tax funded resorts. They’re still prisons (although sometimes they’re referred to as correctional facilities and occasionally provided an Indigenous title, they’re nonetheless prisons). Days are highly structured with little, if any, opportunity to exercise independence or choice, and it’s under those conditions that people like me (and there’s quite a few of us) request prisoners take time out to answer a lot of questions, ostensibly toward the greater good.
    [Show full text]