Outsourcing offenders (Literally)
posted by Glen Stidolph in Outsourcing |
Criminal justice in many countries is designed on the presumption that the prime objective is rehabilitation into society. Not punishment, not restitution, and most law abiding citizens are happy to provide a second or maybe a third chance. (Look at the 3 strikes and out system employed in many states f the US) But hey, the repeat offenders are not going to rehabilitate, and we all know it. So they just need to be taken out of circulation where they can no longer cause the public at large any more problems.
Outsourcing is a model that you can procure cheaper services or labour outside your home market thus making your business more competitive, so how bout the strategic outsourcing of repeat offenders.
Long-term criminals cost approx $90 - 120k per year to hold. Also they can be a danger to, and/or an impediment to, the successful rehabilitation of less serious criminals by housing them in the same cells.
The incarceration rates in most developed countries are rising, as is the building of new prisons to accommodate this increase, which can be approx the same build cost as a Hi- Tech school or Hospital, and I know which I would prefer to see more being built.
What if there was a simple solution to:
Reducing crime rates (Due to the possibility of being incarcerated in a Low Cost Country facility)
Increased rehabilitation rates (Its unlikely that many offenders would like to come back to Low Cost Country facilities)
Increasing FDI in developing countries.
Yes, the answer is of course, Outsourcing. It is significantly cheaper to ‘house’ repeat offenders in Prisons in a country such as Malaysia, than UK, US, Australia and most other developed countries.
Lets say most countries set the bar similar to the US with its 3 strikes and then (Literally) OUT! Most criminals who are convicted for a 3rd offence get in excess of a 5 year sentence, making it cost effective to outsource, as well as allowing the prison service to perform higher leverage tasks of trying to rehabilitee less hardened criminals.
The cost of housing such offenders in Malaysia would be approx $20K per year of less, and as I live in Malaysia, I know that they are very unlikely to get afforded the same luxuries they would enjoy in modern prisons, perhaps leading prison to being the deterrent that it should be, once a criminal has served their time and not somewhere they don’t mind going back too.
A saving of $100.00 P/A per prisoner, prison staff being able to fulfil higher leverage tasks, lower number of repeat offenders and higher rehabilitation figures….can someone please point out any downside?
