Private prisons have become an integral part of the penal system in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. There are over 100 such prisons in these countries and, with the number of prisoners continuing to increase rapidly, the trend toward privatization seems irreversible. The book is divided into 12 chapters, which address: (1) growth of private prisons; (2) accountability and the political context of privatization; (3) accountability, monitoring and capture; (4) accountability mechanisms in public sector prisons and their applicability to private prisons; (5) letting the contract and setting the terms; (6) prison personnel, the administration of punishment and the impact of privatization upon penal policy; (7) financial accountability and control; (8) comparing public and private prisons; (9) special custodial issues and privatization; (10) enhancing the prison system; cross-fertilization and market testing; (11) future growth of privatization; and (12) a model for public accountability of private prisons. Tables, notes, figures, references, index