Private vs. Public Operation of Juvenile Correctional Facilities (Criminal Justice: Recent Scholarship)

Armstrong studies the environmental quality of confinement in private and public juvenile correctional facilities using data from 48 facilities, representing 4,590 delinquents, 1,362 staff, and 48 administrators in 19 states (16 private and 32 public facilities). Her results demonstrate that neither staff nor juvenile delinquents perceived the environmental quality to be significantly different between private and public facilities. Further, compared to public facilities, private facilities were smaller, newer and had a more intensive admission process for juvenile delinquents. Public and Private correctional staff differed significantly on age and prior work experience. Differences in the juvenile populations were minimal.