The article reviews the historical context of privatization, and trends leading to the current use of privatization of corrections. Controversial issues that are often part of any debate concerning using the private sector as a service provider include propriety, cost, quality, quantity, flexibility, security, liability, accountability, corruption, and dependence. The first and most prominent argument for privatizing prisons is that it is more cost-effective and cost-efficient. However, opponents of privatization worry that the private provider may cut corners to save costs and thereby lower the quality of service. Critics of privatization also claim that it is immoral to profit from the imprisonment of others. Before deciding to privatize, corrections officials should determine what factors led other managers to privatize; what distinguished those managers from others; why some managers privatize and others do not; whether this innovation is characteristic of legislation and the state or the public sector manager; and how other managers came to their decision to privatize. References, bibliography