Essay On Private Probation

In recent decades, public administration has seen a shift toward devolution, defined as “the transfer of authority to an organization that is legally separate from the state.” Public agencies often outsource government functions with the intention of promoting efficiency, competition, flexibility, innovation, and the development of results-oriented processes. As the private probation industry demonstrates, a public agency may also transfer authority to private companies when the latter can help the former increase revenue. Sarah Stillman identifies problems with the private probation industry, including corruption, coercive practices, and a lack of focus on rehabilitation and reducing recidivism rates. Restructuring the public-private partnership will not solve these problems because probation is a complex service and governments and courts lack the resources and management capacity to monitor whether private companies address issues like those Stillman outlines.

Problems with private probation industry
Competition for exclusive contracts with courts has encouraged corruption, …show more content…
This is unlikely to change as many courts already lack adequate funding, as evidenced by their use of private probation companies to collect fees. An increase in lawsuits against private probation companies has lead to greater scrutiny of the firms, but the scopes of these suits are limited.
The private probation industry is blighted by corruption, coercive collection practices, and a lack of focus on rehabilitation and reducing recidivism. With the complexity of probation services and the lack of resources available to courts for oversight, restructuring the public-private partnership between courts and private probation firms will not solve