Not only will a privately-run prison not save the government 15 percent of a jail’s operating expenses, as originally thought, but it will actually cost 20 percent more, according to an Israeli Prison Service internal report.
The private prison was supposed to have opened in Be’er Sheva this past month but was stopped in its tracks by a Supreme Court ruling. The Court ruled on a petition submitted four years ago by a prisoner named Yadin Machnes, a lawyer by profession, as well as the heads of the Civil Rights Department in the Law Academic College of Ramat Gan and former Israel Prison Service official Shlomo Tauser.
The petitioners claimed that Israeli legal principles and Basic Laws forbid the transfer to a private, commercial body of sovereign powers such as the use of force to incarcerate individuals. Privatization of jails could “lead to the privatization of the police, army and legal system,” the petitioner maintained, “causing a mortal blow to democratic life in Israel.”
The already-built facility, just south of Be’er Sheva, is designed to hold 800 low-to-medium security prisoners serving up to seven years in jail. It is owned by ALA Management and Operations, which won the government tender to run Israel’s first private jail. ALA is a subsidiary of three companies: Lev Leviev's Africa-Israel, the Minerb construction company of Israel, and Emerald Corrections, a Louisiana-based company that operates several private detention centers in Texas.
MKs Give Report to Police Minister
The new Prison Service report was revealed by MK Shelly Yechimovich (Labor) and former Prison Service head Aryeh Bibi (Kadima). They asked Public Security Minister Yitzchak Aharonovich to accept the report, and are also working to have it presented to the Supreme Court – even though the petition is not related to the economics of running the prison.
Representatives of the private-prison companies say they will demand at least 250 million shekels in compensation for their losses. They have already built the facility, bought equipment, and hired workers.
The Supreme Court has already hinted that the operators do not deserve the full sum, as they were aware as early as three years ago, when a first restraining order was served, that the legality of the private jail’s operation was in doubt.
Arguments against Privatization
Arguments against privatization include the fact that restricting individuals’ freedom should be done only by the State and the fact that giving jail-control to private owners leads them to lobby for tougher crime laws that will lead to more prisoners, as has occurred in the United States.
On the other hand, a Prison Service representative is to be present at all times, and any violations of the detailed contract - which stipulate in detail how prisoners are to be treated - are liable to lead to fines for the operators.