Private prisons performing worse than state-run facilities

Private prisons performing worse than state-run facilities

Report pours scorn on Government claim that private sector is raising standards

Britain's private prisons are performing worse than those run by the state, according to data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

The findings, based on the overall performances of 132 prisons in England and Wales, appear to undermine claims by ministers that the greater use of private jails is raising standards for the accommodation of more than 83,000 prisoners held across both sectors.

Separate figures, also released under the right-to-know law, show that nearly twice as many prisoner complaints are upheld in private prisons as they are in state-run institutions.

Private prisons 'performing worse than state-run jails' (The Independent, 29 June 2009)