Is the prison industry influencing corrections policy?

As New Zealand gets closer to contracting prison management to private corporations there is speculation rising about possible future (or even present) links between the private prison industry and “tough on crime” lobby groups. The Standard has brought to light that the GEO Group, the main contender for New Zealand's prison management contracts, is major contributor to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), “a Washington, D.C. based public policy organization that develops model legislation that advances tough-on-crime legislation and free-market principles such as privatization.” In the United States ALEC has “developed and helped to successfully implement” tough on crime initiatives such as “Truth in Sentencing” and “Three Strikes”.

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New Zealand's equivalent of ALEC, which has a very similar policy platform, is the so-called 'Sensible Sentencing Trust' in response to The Standard's speculations they have issued a press release stating that “The Sensible Sentencing Trust is funded by public donations and receives no government funding.” This is as far as the statement goes however, at no point does the trust deny they are receiving money GEO group or any others in the business of prison management. The Standard responded saying

This press release raises even more questions about the role of the Sensible Sentencing Trust and its underlying financial support than it clears. It would have been easy for [spokesperson] Garth to simply say that they have not received donations from private prison operators. That was not done, which makes the silence on this subject extremely interesting.

Meanwhile, the union representing prison wardens has told The New Zealand Herald it will fight the government's private prison plans. Prison officers started on just $18,000 a year the last time prison management was privatised, the starting salary in public prisons at the time was $27,000.