This is a part of No Pride in Prisons’ Abolitionist demands. These demands were originally published as a book. To see a pdf of the book, click here. To buy a copy, please email info@noprideinprisons.org.nz
Fundamentally, the very idea of private prison ownership and operation is corrupt. Private prisons operate to profit from an incarceration process that locks people away for long periods of time but fails to make communities safer.[1] Contracting out prison operations also serves to limit the state’s responsibility to incarcerated people, and thus its accountability for their treatment. Through privatisation, the state’s responsibility to incarcerated people is replaced by responsibility for the management of contractual terms.
By centring the contractual obligations, as well as the profit motive, privately-run prisons often place less emphasis on incarcerated people’s well-being in the operation of the prison. The failures of private prison operator Serco at Auckland’s Mount Eden Corrections Facility have highlighted the dangers of this process. Following an investigation into organised fights and an incarcerated person’s death, the Department of Corrections confirmed in December 2015 that Serco’s contract to run Mount Eden Corrections Facility would not be renewed in March 2017.[2] Auckland South Corrections Facility, also operated by Serco New Zealand, was the site of the recent high-profile rape of an incarcerated trans women as revealed by No Pride in Prisons in October 2015.[3] However, when these kinds of incidents occur, the state can shrug its shoulders and blame the private operator. It is able to privatise the responsibility.
It is important to note that had the two prisons above been publicly operated, the events mentioned may still have occurred.[4] Nonetheless, No Pride in Prisons calls for the abolition of all privately-owned and operated prisons. This way, accountability to the welfare of prisoners cannot be fundamentally compromised by profit motives.
[1] JustSpeak, Unlocking Prisons: How We Can Improve New Zealand’s Prison System, (Wellington: JustSpeak, 2014).
[2] Isaac Davison, “Serco’s Contract to Run Mt Eden Prison Not Renewed,” NZ Herald, 9 December 2015. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11558364.
[3] No Pride in Prisons, “Trans Woman Raped in Auckland South Corrections Facility,” Scoop, 5 October 2015. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1510/S00067/trans-woman-raped-in-auckland-south-corrections-facility.htm.
[4] Sam Sachdeva, “Fight Club Culture at Mt Eden Prisons Existed Before Serco – Arthur Taylor,” Stuff, 26 February 2016. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/77275157/Fight-club-culture-at-Mt-Eden-prisons-existed-before-Serco-Arthur-Taylor.