Leaving the jail under the sheriff poses the best decision both financially and operationally due to the relatively low correctional officer salaries and the sharing of many functions between the road patrol and corrections. Transferring control to the county commissioners would give more direct financial control to the county commissioners, would increase salaries, and would require more personnel. The third and most costly option is to privatize the jail. The pitfalls of privatization include the liability of the county commissioners together with little control over the private party, difficulty recruiting correctional officers due to the lack of a retirement system, the extra costs involved in apparent gifts from the private company, and the company's option of going bankrupt if costs are too high. Business aims to make a profit, while public administration does not aim for profit. Trying to privatize certain parts of government results in longer-term costs. Changing from the status quo will cost more and be less efficient. The author is the jail administrator of the Charlotte County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office. Reference note