Should laws allow the building and operation of prisons by private businesses?

Pro: There are many more people sentenced to jail than there are places in jail to put them. Because jails are overcrowded, some dangerous criminals are not incarcerated. The nation needs more facilities to house its population of dangerous criminals. The private sector can build and operate the needed additional prisons more economically than the public can.

Pro: Privately-run prisons are more likely to be able to afford to keep their facilities in good repair. With access to more money than publicly-run jails have, the prison businesses could provide better living conditions for inmates.

Pro: Prison inmates could be used as an inexpensive labor force which could provide much needed assistance in the maintenance and repair of public and private facilities. The revenue generated by inmates would enable privately-run prisons not only to survive but also to pay handsome profits to stockholders.

Con: Governments do not give privately owned and operated prisons the same oversight that they give public facilities, so prisons operating in the private sector are in some ways less accountable to society than are prisons run by public departments.

Reply: Governments could adequately regulate the operation of privately-run prisons to ensure that inmates are not abused or exploited and that prisons are secure and the public remains safe.