Privatising prison escorts defies advice from Department of Justice expert committee

national | miscellaneous | press release Wednesday November 12, 2003 14:48 by Rick Lines, Executive Director - Irish Penal Reform Trust info at penal-reform dot ie Swanbrook House, Bloomfield Avenue, Dublin 4 01-668-0072

Report concludes scheme “not a viable option”; McDowell admits “no detailed research” done

The Irish Penal Reform Trust has questioned why Justice Minister McDowell is privatising the prisoner escort service when a report produced by his own Department found that “privatisation of prisoner escorts is not a viable option”. The IPRT further asked on what basis the Minister has made this decision when he himself admits, “no detailed research was undertaken into the experience of privatised prisoner transport in other jurisdictions.”

The Irish Penal Reform Trust has questioned why Justice Minister McDowell is privatising the prisoner escort service when a report produced by his own Department found that “privatisation of prisoner escorts is not a viable option”. The IPRT further asked on what basis the Minister has made this decision when he himself admits, “no detailed research was undertaken into the experience of privatised prisoner transport in other jurisdictions.”

In July 2002, the Department of Justice’s Prison Service Staffing & Operations Review Team (SORT) released a report on the prison escort service, with a view to improving efficiencies and reducing overtime costs. The report found that given the current disorganisation in the escort service, it was not reasonable to conclude that privatisation would necessarily be cheaper or more efficient than a restructured escort service maintained in the public sector. Rather than privatisation, SORT recommended that a centrally managed escort system be created and run within the public service.

“The Minister’s announcement yesterday defies recommendations made by his Department’s own experts only one year ago,” said IPRT Executive Director, Rick Lines. “This calls into question the whole basis of his plan, and leads us to again ask ‘Minister, where’s the evidence?’”

According to SORT, “[I]t would not be appropriate to privatise the service at a time when it is not operating efficiently as this would militate negatively against the level of efficiencies and cost savings that could reasonably be expected to be achieved in the normal course.”

The IPRT expressed further concern at the Minister’s admission (in answer to Parliamentary Questions, 10/22) that his Department is unable to “comprehensively identify[y]” the current cost of the escort service nor provide assurances that a privatised service would result in cost savings. Most troubling for the IPRT is the Minister’s admission that “no detailed research was undertaken into the experience of privatised prisoner transport in other jurisdictions.”

“Sound public policy must be based upon evidence, not on simple assumptions that ‘private’ is necessarily more efficient than ‘public’,” said Mr. Lines. “The Minister’s proposal not only ignores the best advice from his own experts, it comes after his admission that there was no examination done of the experience of privatised escorts in other countries. That a decision of this magnitude could be made with no evidence that it will promote the development of best practice is troubling to say the least. If the Minister truly believes privatisation is the answer, surely it is not too much for him to provide his evidence.”