Between 1992 and 2000, Wisconsin’s prison population exploded with a 254 percent increase along with a corrections spending increase of 247 percent, jumping from $338 million to $837 million over the course of the 8 years. When the prison system filled to over 135 percent over capacity, a $308 million corrections building program was established that created five new prisons, among other things. Despite the new prisons, the State prison system remains overcrowded and Wisconsin’s current budget deficit could top $2 billion. State leaders are targeting the State prison system for budgetary cuts. Newly elected Democratic Governor Jim Doyle and the Republican-controlled legislature promised no tax hikes but are also loathe to release non-violent inmates into treatment programs in order to ease the budgetary crisis. Despite the current dilemma, few State leaders will back-up proposals for correction privatization. Prison privatization was originally sought in the 1990’s to ease overcrowding, not to ease budgetary woes. In 1998, Wisconsin placed many inmates in out-of-State corrections facilities through a contract with a private, for-profit firm. Despite the cost savings seen through this move, since 2001 Wisconsin has reduced its out-of-State prison placements. The remainder of the article revisits the benefits of prison privatization and argues that Wisconsin’s budgetary crisis necessitates that Wisconsin reconsider the use of privately-run prisons. Several studies have shown that private prisons can offer quality correctional services at cost-efficient rates. The author of the report compared States that house more than 20 percent of their inmates in private prisons with States that use publicly-run prisons exclusively and discovered that private prisons kept daily inmate costs lower than public prisons. According to the United States Department of Justice, private prisons are able to keep labor costs lower than public prisons. Research also suggests that private prisons are able to be constructed quicker and at a lower cost and are able to provide better services than State-operated prisons. Competition and accountability also ensure that private prisons operate more effectively than public prisons. In closing, the author makes several recommendations for moving Wisconsin in the direction of prison privatization. Sources