Date of Award

7-1-1997

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Sociology and Anthropology

First Advisor

Dr. Littrell

Second Advisor

Dr. Rousseau

Third Advisor

Dr. Marshall

Abstract

This study examines the re-emergence of the profit motive in corrections. The study consists of two separate, but related parts. The first part aims to demonstrate the workings of the corrections-commercial complex by illustrating the close ties between the public and private sectors and the most influential professional organization in the field, the American Correctional Association. The second part discusses the power of transnational corporations (TNCs), and, through the case studies of the two largest correctional corporations, argues that correctional TNCs will act just like others and influence public policy in their self-interest, which, in this case, means even larger numbers of prisoners in those countries targeted as 'markets' for the services of these corporations. The date were collected from various magazines, newspapers, and computer databases. The major source for the first part of the study was Corrections Today, the magazine of the American Correctional Association. The data not only were supportive of both theoretical frameworks employed-Lilly and Knepper (1993) and Christie (1993)-, but also indicated some developments toward the author's hypothesis that in the future, penal policies of many countries may be largely influenced by transnational correctional corporations, whose basic concern is the bottom line.

Comments

A Thesis Presented to the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the Faculty of the Graduate College University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts University of Nebraska at Omaha. Copyright Berna Civan

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