Sociology of Privatization of Criminal Justice: Opportunities and Challenges

Document Type : .

Authors

1 Ph.D. Student in Criminal Law and Criminology, Department of Law, Yasooj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yasooj, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Law, Yasouj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yasouj, Iran

10.30465/scs.2025.9429

Abstract

Criminal justice is one of the most important social institutions that is responsible for maintaining the order and security of the society and implementing justice. In modern legal systems, the government is responsible for providing criminal justice services. However, in recent years we have seen an increase in the privatization of criminal justice around the world. In this article, we are trying to answer the question of what opportunities and challenges the privatization of criminal justice as a social problem entails. The findings of the research indicate that there are generally two general views in the field of privatization of criminal justice; The first or neoliberal view argues that privatization increases efficiency and cost savings, innovation, performance-based contracting, flexibility, reduction of bureaucracy, central specialization and reduction of government monopolies; On the other hand, the second point of view or the commodification of criminal justice suggests that the commodification of criminal justice causes deprivation of justice and freedom, reduction of services, simplification, instability, lack of accountability, conflict of interests, deprivation of public trust. In this article, by using the descriptive and analytical method and with a sociological perspective, we examine the privatization of criminal justice and different views.
Keywords: Privatization, Commodification, Criminal Justice, Neoliberalism, Social Justice
 
 
 
Introduction
Starting in the 1980s, governments initiated privatization efforts across industrial and welfare sectors, aiming to bolster revenue, expand stock ownership, and diminish union influence. This shift aimed at enhancing consumer choices, service quality, and cost-effectiveness. Unlike earlier periods where economic activities toggled between public and private realms, recent decades witnessed a pronounced transfer of governmental responsibilities to the private sector, a departure from post-World War II trends of extensive government ownership and service provision. This global wave of privatization, beginning in the late 1970s, encompassed diverse public services, including the outsourcing of functions within criminal justice systems.
Materials & Methods
The study employs analytical-descriptive methods within legal sociology to explore and analyze theories, literature, and empirical findings regarding the privatization of criminal justice, aiming to delineate both its opportunities and challenges.
Discussion
Criminal justice encompasses principles such as acquittal, legality, moral responsibility, and punishment's personal nature, aiming to ensure individuals' rights against governmental criminal actions while maintaining public safety, deterring crime, rehabilitating offenders, and administering justice. Its paradigms include retributive justice focusing on punishment, restorative justice emphasizing reform, and social justice addressing crime's social roots and inequalities.
Result
The sociological examination of the privatization of criminal justice reveals two predominant perspectives. Proponents of privatization argue that the private sector can deliver criminal justice services more effectively and with higher standards through competition, economic incentives, and innovation. They contend that privatization enhances flexibility, specialization, and overall efficiency, while also breaking down government monopolies in this domain. Conversely, critics caution against the commodification of justice under privatization, asserting that profit motives inherent in private companies jeopardize clients' rights and access to justice. Concerns also center around potential instability, inadequate accountability, conflicts of interest, and a erosion of public trust in the criminal justice system.

Highlights

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  2. Bean, Philip(2020). Criminal Justice and Privatisation: Key Issues and Debates. Routledge
  3. Castree, N. (2008). Neoliberalising Nature: The Logics of Deregulation and Reregulation. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 40(1), 131-152.
  4. Cornford, Andrew. (2023). The Aims and Functions of Criminal Law. The Modern Law Review.
  5. Crouse, Eric R(2022) Margaret Thatcher's case against democratic socialism and Keynesian economics: markets, monetarism, and British politics in the 1970s, Rowman & Littlefield
  6. Darvishi, H., & momeni, S. (2021). Bourdieu and the issue of neoliberalism. Society Culture Media, 10(39), 87-102. [ in Persian].
  7. Fairfax, Roger A. Jr. (2010) "Outsourcing Criminal Prosecution? - The Limits of Criminal Justice Privatization," University of Chicago Legal Forum: Vol Article 10.
  8. Forbes-Pitt, Kate (2014). The Assumption of Agency Theory, Taylor & Francis.
  9. Gholami, H., & Kasaee, E. S. (2021). A Criminological Approach to the Challenges of the Neoliberal Political-Economic System with a Look at the Coronavirus Conditions. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 9(17), 127-151. [ in Persian].
  10. Hamerton C., Hobbs S.,(2022) Privatising Criminal Justice: History, Neoliberal Penality and the Commodification of Crime, London: Routledge, 21,
  11. Headley A., Garcia‐Zamor J.,(2014) The Privatization of Prisons and its Impact on Transparency and Accountability in Relation to Maladministration, International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education, 1,
  12. Hozhabr alSadati, H., & Habibzadeh, M. J. (2014). Social Justice and Criminal Justice: Division or Connection. Criminal Law Doctrines, 11(8), 25-54 [ in Persian]
  13. Kim, D.-Y. (2022). Prison Privatization: An Empirical Literature Review and Path Forward. International Criminal Justice Review, 32(1), 24-47.
  14. Kyle, Peter H.(2013), Contracting for Performance: Restructuring the Private Prison Market, 54 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 2087
  15. McAlinden, Anne-Marie. (2011). ‘Transforming justice’: challenges for restorative justice in an era of punishment-based corrections. Contemporary Justice Review. 14. 1-24.
  16. Najafi Abrandabadi, Ali Hossein (2013). An introduction to research in the criminal justice system: opportunities and challenges. Judiciary Journal, No. 77. [ in Persian].
  17. Namadianpour, I., Janalizade, H., & Firouzjaeian, A. A. (2023). A sociological reflection on the privatization of education (non-government schools) in Iran. Sociological Cultural Studies, 14(2), 111-140. [ in Persian].
  18. Nofal, Sulafa. (2023). The historical roots of neoliberalism: origin and meaning. Brazilian Journal of Political Economy. 43. 576-591.
  19. Parker, D. (2009) The Official History of Privatisation, Volume 1: The Formative Years 1970– 1987, London: Routledge
  20. Pendenza, M., & Lamattina, V. (2019). Rethinking Self-Responsibility: An Alternative Vision to the Neoliberal Concept of Freedom. American Behavioral Scientist, 63(1), 100-115.
  21. Peters, M. (2016). Neoliberalism, Hayek, and the Austrian School of Economics. In: Peters, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory. Springer, Singapore.
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  23. Pratt, Travis. (2019). Cost–benefit analysis and privatized corrections. Criminology & Public Policy. 18.
  24. Rahall, Karena,(2014) The Siren Is Calling: Economic and Ideological Trends Toward Privatization of Public Police Forces, 68 U. MIAMI L. REV. 633
  25. Randall, Holcombe(2016). Advanced Introduction to Public Choice. Edward Elgar Publishing
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  29. Tilley, N. (2018). Privatizing Crime Control. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 679(1), 55-71.
  30. Vilher, Libbi L. (2017). Private Prisons and the Need for Greater Transparency: Private Prison Information Act, 12 Brook. J. Corp. Fin. & Com. L.

 

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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    1.  Bean, Philip(2020). Criminal Justice and Privatisation: Key Issues and Debates. Routledge
    2. Castree, N. (2008). Neoliberalising Nature: The Logics of Deregulation and Reregulation. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 40(1), 131-152.
    3. Cornford, Andrew. (2023). The Aims and Functions of Criminal Law. The Modern Law Review.
    4. Crouse, Eric R(2022) Margaret Thatcher's case against democratic socialism and Keynesian economics: markets, monetarism, and British politics in the 1970s, Rowman & Littlefield
    5. Fairfax, Roger A. Jr. (2010) "Outsourcing Criminal Prosecution? - The Limits of Criminal Justice Privatization," University of Chicago Legal Forum: Vol Article 10.
    6. Forbes-Pitt, Kate (2014). The Assumption of Agency Theory, Taylor & Francis.
    7. Hamerton C., Hobbs S.,(2022) Privatising Criminal Justice: History, Neoliberal Penality and the Commodification of Crime, London: Routledge, 21,
    8. Headley A., Garcia‐Zamor J.,(2014) The Privatization of Prisons and its Impact on Transparency and Accountability in Relation to Maladministration, International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education, 1,
    9. Kim, D.-Y. (2022). Prison Privatization: An Empirical Literature Review and Path Forward. International Criminal Justice Review, 32(1), 24-47.
    10. Kyle, Peter H.(2013), Contracting for Performance: Restructuring the Private Prison Market, 54 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 2087
    11. McAlinden, Anne-Marie. (2011). ‘Transforming justice’: challenges for restorative justice in an era of punishment-based corrections. Contemporary Justice Review. 14. 1-24.
    12. Nofal, Sulafa. (2023). The historical roots of neoliberalism: origin and meaning. Brazilian Journal of Political Economy. 43. 576-591.
    13. Parker, D. (2009) The Official History of Privatisation, Volume 1: The Formative Years 1970– 1987, London: Routledge
    14. Pendenza, M., & Lamattina, V. (2019). Rethinking Self-Responsibility: An Alternative Vision to the Neoliberal Concept of Freedom. American Behavioral Scientist, 63(1), 100-115.
    15. Peters, M. (2016). Neoliberalism, Hayek, and the Austrian School of Economics. In: Peters, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory. Springer, Singapore.
    16. Pratt, Travis. (2019). Cost–benefit analysis and privatized corrections. Criminology & Public Policy. 18.
    17. Rahall, Karena,(2014) The Siren Is Calling: Economic and Ideological Trends Toward Privatization of Public Police Forces, 68 U. MIAMI L. REV. 633
    18. Randall, Holcombe(2016). Advanced Introduction to Public Choice. Edward Elgar Publishing
    19. Shetreet ,Shimon, Chodosh, Hiram, Eric, Helland(2021). Challenged Justice: In Pursuit of Judicial Independence. BRILL.
    20. Szablowski, Zenon. (2008). Punitive justice and restorative justice as social reconciliation. The Heythrop Journal. 49. 405 – 422
    21. Tilley, N. (2018). Privatizing Crime Control. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 679(1), 55-71.
    22. Vilher, Libbi L. (2017). Private Prisons and the Need for Greater Transparency: Private Prison Information Act, 12 Brook. J. Corp. Fin. & Com. L.

     

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