Madam, - I am writing to support the comments made by Rick Lines of the Irish Penal Reform Trust on privatising prisons (April 26th).
I am currently completing a master's dissertation on the subject and in all the studies I have seen to date I have yet to find any credible evidence that privatisation is any more effective than the public system in terms of cost, recidivism, regime, facilities or rehabilitation.
The Minister of Justice is approaching the issue from the ideology of a party that supports the involvement of private companies in state services to cut costs. But he is missing the main point.
Despite the fact that, according to official statistics, the crime rate in Ireland is falling, we resort increasingly to putting people behind bars in an effort to stall the "crime epidemic" reported in the media.
Increased imprisonment of offenders, without attempting to tackle social and economic issues linked to crime (such as poverty, drugs and lack of education) will cost the State more money in the long run; in 2002, the average annual cost of keeping a prisoner behind bars in Ireland was €84,750.
Perhaps as important is the question of whether we are prepared to place a fundamental role of government in the hands of private companies whose main motive is to make profits and which would benefit from maintaining and increasing the level of incarceration. - Yours, etc,
ANGELA COLTON, Ballinteer Avenue, Ballinteer, Dublin 16.