· March 21, 2011

Unanswered Questions: Prison Privatization

Research Overview

On March  15th, Governor John Kasich unveiled his first Executive Budget, which included a proposal to privatize five of Ohio’s 31 correctional institutions. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) currently oversees an inmate population of 50,500 adult felony offenders, tasked with protecting citizens by maintaining supervision in “environments that are safe, humane, and appropriately secure.” Thus far, very little information regarding the plan to privatize prison facilities has been released by the governor or DRC beyond the expectation of generating $200 million in one-time money from the sale of the five facilities. In anticipation of a presentation by DRC before the House Finance and Appropriations committee, Innovation Ohio offers five critically important questions that  need answers before a prison privatization plan can be effectively evaluated. Read the report (PDF)