Serco: Privatised Prisons Have A Long History

 Written by: Ned K. on 27 January 2021

Privatisation of prisons is still very much on the agenda of capitalism's governments in Australia. British based multinational Serco recently took over the Remand Centre in Adelaide to add to its private prison profit making in Australia.

This month Serco was fined $100,000 after a prisoner used a clothes rope to escape from the centre.

Soon after the escape, Public Sector Association (PSA) general secretary Nev Kitchin argued that "privately run prisons simply don't work".

"We're looking at multinational companies, we're looking at fewer staff, we're looking at inferior training, we're looking at more assaults occurring in the private prisons, we're looking at more contraband getting into the private prisons, and we're looking at overall reduced safety," he said.

Privatisation of prisons has a long history going back at least to the pre- prison reform movement in the late 1700s in England, about the same time as overflowing prisons there gave rise to transportation of prisoners to the colony of NSW.

In his extraordinarily researched book, The Fatal Shore, Robert Hughes had this to say about the prison system in England in the 1750s to 1800 period. Prisons at that time were "holes in which prisoners could be forgotten. Their purpose was not reform, but terror and sublimation". For First Nations People in Australia today, nothing much has changed.

Hughes goes on to say that,

"About half the jails of England were privately owned and run. Chesterfield jail belonged to the Duke of Portland, who sublet it to a keeper for 18 guineas a year. The Bishop of Ely owned a prison, the Bishop of Durham had the Durham County jail, and Halifax jail belonged to the Duke of Leeds. Their jailers were not state employees but small businessmen who made their profits by extorting money from prisoners. On entering the Bishop of Ely's lock-up, a prisoner was chained down to the floor with a spiked collar riveted round his neck until he disgorged a fee for "easement of irons" 

Prisoners "paid for food , for drink, for bedding, water and even air"!

Prisoners had to pay rent as well. Nowadays prisoners often work to make profit for private jail owners. 

Nothing much has changed

Fight SA government’s privatisation agenda

Nick G.

Prison officers at the Adelaide Remand Centre walked off the job yesterday to protest at the State Liberal government’s plans to privatise the facility.

Under capitalism, prisons are part of the coercive apparatus of the state, yet as employees and union members, warders are entitled to fight for wage increases and better working conditions.

Even more so, when the issue at hand is a political one (the threat of privatisation), rather than a purely economist one (wages and conditions), then they should be supported.

The walk-out arose from measures announced in State Treasurer Rob Lucas’ first Budget.  Along with the Remand Centre’s privatisation, the government announced the closure of seven TAFE campuses (including three in remote locations), increased rents for Housing Trust tenants in bedsit and one bedroom cottage flats, saving $70 million by abandoning the previous Labor government’s plan to provide laptops to every Year 10 student, cuts to some public transport service and closure of three Service SA (motor registration) Centres and cuts to FTE staff in the education and environment departments.

There was visible anger during the march and rally at new Premier Steven Marshall who had told a Public Service Association delegates’ meeting last February (ie just before the state election) that he had “no privatisation agenda”.  The prison officers tried to outdo each other in shouting “Marshall…liar!  Marshal…liar!” throughout the march and rally.

Although there were some state Labor MPs scattered through the 1500-strong participants at the rally, they could not have been all that pleased when PSA Secretary Nev Kitchen remarked that the anti-privatisation struggle was not party political.  Everyone knows that Labor had its own privatisation agenda while in office, selling off the Land Titles Office and the Motor Accident Corporation in its last term of office.  It sold Land Titles to Land Services SA — a consortium of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board. Labor has built new schools and the new Royal Adelaide Hospital as Public Private Partnerships - the private sector owns the hospital and provides all its hotel (food, linen etc) services. It had placed TAFE under the control of the big end of town as a statutory authority. Business SA CEO Peter Vaughan, a public opponent of TAFE became the foundation Chairman of its Board.  And Labor renewed the contract for the private operation of the Mt Gambier prison, operated by notorious British multinational G4S.

The PSA and other SA unions have a huge battle to beat back the government’s privatisation agenda. Rob Lucas was the architect of the privatisation of the Electricity Trust of SA (ETSA) in 1997-8. The Liberals had gone to an election claiming that “We are not pursuing a privatisation course with ETSA.” It was a disaster, with electricity prices going through the roof.

Lucas is simply a privatisation ideologue and has been bruising for a fight with unions and the community over the issue.

There can be no course other than unity with and support for the prison officers.

Studies show no evidentiary basis for private prisons.

A 2016 study by the Business School of the University of Sydney found that: “Australia now imprisons more people than at any point in its history.

“Private prisons now incarcerate 18.5% of the prison population of Australia (Productivity Commission, 2014: Table 8A.1), and clearly play a large part in the functioning of the custodial system in Australia. In fact, Australia has the highest rate of private incarceration per capita of any country in the world (Mason, 2013: 2).

“Overall, we find that there is not sufficient evidence to support claims in favour of prison privatisation in Australia. As a consequence, it is our view that no further privatisations should take place before an appropriate level of information is made available to policy makers and the public in order to properly assess the impact of privatisation on the sector. In addition, there is a need for more research that engages directly with those impacted by the sector: prison employees and prisoners.”

Our future lies in the defence of the rights of all.

Unions and the community must close ranks and set aside differences while there is an opportunity for united action around an anti-privatisation agenda.
 

Gaol teacher speaks out for prisoners

Vanguard December 2014 p. 4

By Louisa L

(Above: Sydney's Long Bay Jail)

Vanguard doesn't bullshit about prisons. In 50 years of publication it's never whinged about prisoners having it easy or the other garbage that Murdoch's media churns out. We tell the truth.

            Prisons are part of the state apparatus for defending capitalist rule.

            As  Anatole France wrote 100 years ago, “The law, in its majestic impartiality, forbids the rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread.”

            No kid is born wanting to go to gaol. But an utterly corrupt system, that reinforces multibillion dollar corporate profits, while privatising and cutting funds to public schools, hospitals, broadcasting or other services that benefit ordinary Australians, fails too many of our kids.

            The research on the effect of small class sizes in the early years of schooling and on high quality pre-school education, is overwhelming; we can prevent many kids ending up in prison as adults if we spend enough on early education. Do the governments that manage capitalism do it? Not a chance!

Different relationships

            Teachers in gaols try to serve those that end up in prison. In NSW gaols, teachers are paid less than colleagues in schools and TAFEs, so recruitment's a problem and, until they recently won permanency industrially, prison educators were on six month contracts.

            Teachers Federation representative Stewart Burkitt outlined issues earlier this year.        “We don't want a deficit model, as if prisoners haven't got anything to offer. Lots of them are very skilled, very capable,” he says.

            According to Mr Burkitt, teachers are glad that education isn't compulsory, because it allows teachers to foster a different environment and different relationships. “Education is seen is a cooler place, so there are not many incidents,” he explains.

No rights to education

            Remand prisoners have limited educational access, and even that is under attack. They could be on remand for three years and cop a four year sentence, getting just one year of education, but building literacy skills alone could take years.

            Prisoners are often required to undertake offence related courses to get parole, but they need a certain level of literacy to succeed, and many don't have that. This is why a broad adult education curriculum, including art, computer studies, ESL, literacy and numeracy are so important, to bring people into education, to encourage thinking and build capacity, not just to train them in narrow work-related skills.

            Teachers are also mindful that things can change at any time. There's a review into educational provision in gaols, where Burkitt states, “everything is on the table.”

            “The government's aim of shifting all metropolitan gaols into remand will limit educational access, and there's always the prospect of privatisation and contracting out...'Let's get Acme Training in' like they did in the UK. It's cheaper, but duplication, no follow-through and demoralisation were the results,” Mr Burkett continues.

Time to do better

            Mr Burkitt says that education isn't just training for employment. “We're not trainers; we're teachers! All the research demonstrates that those who have engaged with education while in gaol have a better chance of staying out.

            “Therapeutic, well-being programs are integral. They're gateways that bring people to other things. We want to ensure a broad adult education that prisoners need!” he declares.

            Already a 50 per cent funding cut has negatively affected prisoners' ability to access distance education and even basic supplies of pens, exercise books, folders, art materials, etc. as well as teaching resources and access to professional learning.

            We need a system that supports all people to reach their potential. Vanguard is on the side of those who try to create that fairer future.

Prisons - a public responsibility not a private cash cow

Vanguard July 2013 p. 2
Max O.

 

Studies by the Institute of Criminology have revealed a dramatic increase in the number of Aboriginal deaths in custody. This has not reached the highs of the eighties when the main cause of death in custody was self-harm, usually hanging. The recent rise in prison deaths has been due to natural causes or in other words neglect. Given that incarcerations across the board confine primarily the poor and the marginalised we can expect that those entering prison are not brimming with good health. The health problems associated with poverty and marginalisation are well known and unless all persons taken into prisons, particularly Aboriginal prisoners, are assessed on entry and any health problems dealt with and monitored, deaths in custody from ‘natural’ causes will increase, particularly as the level of incarceration rises as it is currently.

 Why are Indigenous Deaths in Custody Rates Rising?

The NSW bureau of Crime Statistics and Research found that the adult imprisonment rate in Australia rose by 37% between 2001 and 2008 (and by 48% in New South Wales). These are amazing jumps which would suggest a dramatic increase in the levels of offending.  But not so. The N.S.W Bureau found no increases in the levels of crime.  The increase according to their research is due to an increase in the number of prison sentences being handed down, longer prison time ordered and less bail offered.  Tougher bail conditions discriminate against Aboriginal and other marginalised groups because they cannot so readily meet bail conditions such as stable accommodation and adequate supervision. 

Whilst the level of incarceration across the board has increased the level of Aboriginal incarceration has doubled over the last two decades.    This flies in the face of the basic tenet of the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Report which advocated alternatives to prison as a way of reducing deaths in custody.

Taking the Children Away

The rate at which Aboriginal juveniles are imprisoned is even more alarming.  In Western Australia Aboriginal youth comprises more than two thirds of minors in custody.  In the Northern Territory 97% of those under eighteen in prison are Aboriginal.  Another report by the N.S.W Institute of Technology reports that Aboriginal youth Australia-wide are thirty-one times more likely to be imprisoned than non-Indigenous youth.  With the Northern Territory achieving economies of scale through what has been described as ‘spartan conditions’   imposed on prisoners one wonders just what long term impact this high rate of juvenile removal from family and community and these  ‘spartan’ conditions are having on  the Aboriginal youth  enjoying Her Majesty’s accommodation.

Keeping People out of Prison

Various organizations such as the Red Cross and prisoner support groups argue for lower and lesser prison sentences and suggest options ranging from community involvement in sentencing to court imposed electronic surveillance.  Just the costs of imprisonment would suggest alternatives to imprisonment are the better option with the imprisonment of each individual prisoner costing thirteen to forty times more than non-custodial alternatives.

The Contradictions

Capitalism is, of course, riddled with contradictions.  The contradiction here is between those who argue for alternatives to prison for economic, moral or humane reasons and see prisons and prisoners as a state responsibility, and those who profit from the privatisation of prisons.  

The privatisation of prisons is an increasing trend across the capitalist world.  Currently Australia has twelve privatised prisons   incarcerating approximately 20% of Australia’s prisoners.  Discussions are well underway for more privatisations in Queensland and New South Wales. 

Maximising profiteering from prisons requires that privately run prisons be filled to capacity, thus their existence gives rise to powerful lobby groups agitating for tougher and longer sentencing. These along with political parties popularising ‘get tough on crime’ policies dominate the air space, whilst those advocating public ownership and alternatives to prison have trouble getting their voices heard.

A Government Productivity Commission report found that privatised prisons are no cheaper to run than those managed by the State and at approximately $269 per prisoner per day (or $98,000 per year according to the Productivity Commission figures) the percentage of this money spent in locking up juveniles in particular and minor or moderate offenders would be better spent on preventative measures such as tackling poverty and the increasing inequality in Australia.

Capital roams the world looking for lucrative places to invest.  Taxpayer funded prisons fit the bill.  Capital is aided and abetted by compliant governments all too willing to sell off Australia to the highest bidder.  We need to take responsibility for our own institutions, including prisons to ensure that all essential services serve the Australian people not the profit aims of foreign capital.