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The article discusses recidivism of public and private state prison inmates in Florida. Recent studies have found that there are no significant differences in recidivism between offenders after their release from publicly and privately managed prisons in Florida. This finding challenges prior studies that found lower rates of recidivism among one or more categories of offenders released from privately managed prisons. The claims of ideological opponents of privatization that the full-scale privatization of jails and prisons would yield nothing short of abject failure find no support. The equally biased claims of some proponents of privatization that the innovative approaches of the private sector would bring both major cost savings and substantial quality improvements are unsubstantiated. Well-conceptualized privatization initiatives typically yield substantial construction cost savings, more modest operational cost savings, and an overall quality of correctional services that is at least the equivalent of what traditional public agencies provide.

Compares the recidivism rates of groups of releasees from privately and publicly operated prisons. Details on the study; Subsequent offenses committed by those released from private prisons; Similarity of the two groups on how long it took for the first recidivism event to occur.