Recidivism of Public and Private State Prison Inmates in Florida*

Research Summary: A fundamental claim made in support of private prisons is that they reduce state inmate recidivism. Current knowledge on this empirical question is limited to three prior studies with problematic methodologies. To test this claim better, we use multiple measures of exposure to private prisons to define and analyze multiple treatment/comparison groups of private and public prison inmates. Multivariate survival analysis, controlling for a range of recidivism covariates wider than the prior studies included, is used to compare reoffense and reimprisonment rate differences in a large cohort of Florida prison inmates released from 1995 to 2001. No significant recidivism rate differences are found between private and public prison inmates for adult males, adult females, or youthful offender males. Policy Implications: This study finds no empirical justification for the policy argument that private prisons reduce recidivism better than public prisons. However, the research on this issue has been limited and similar research is needed to test this claim in states other than Florida. Future research on the topic should incorporate reliable measures of program attributes and participation, assess unique characteristics of private prisons that might affect recidivism, and determine whether certain inmate subgroups benefit from those distinctive attributes. In the meantime, until reliable evidence that private prison exposure reduces recidivism appears, public policy debate on the value of private prisons should focus on cost‐savings or other arguments, not on recidivism‐reduction claims.