Prisons and concessions: The privatization of prisons and neoliberal punishment

Abstract

This paper gives an account of the origins of prison privatization policies of the mid-eighties, linked to the rapid expansion of prisons in the late twentieth century and the punitive deployment by neoliberal governments after the crisis of the welfare state. It briefly considers and compares different experiences of privatization, then focuses on the Chilean experience of prison concessions. The purpose behind this analysis is to introduce a critical reading of prison privatization and give impetus to further discussion and assessment of current penal policies and practices.