ABSTRACT
The controversial nature of prison privatization has in fact stimulated widespread and ideologically sharp debate, different in kind from, say, the debate which surrounded the privatization of garbage-collection services. It is in the political context that many of the key elements which should go towards making up proper accountability have been flagged. In Australia and the United Kingdom, whilst avoidance of up-front capital outlays has subsequently become an important element in privatization. Significantly, senior management in both the Northern Territory and Western Australia backed away from the threat of privatization once the unions had conceded staffing and employment conditions which not only delivered financial savings but also bore upon programme matters. The threat of privatization had served to restore management control. The political, economic and social factors which acted as catalysts for privatization have been extensively discussed in the several literature.
