The Perils of Carceral Austerity: How Cost-Cutting Undermines Prison Safety and Fuels Privatization

Sarah D. Cate ()
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Sarah D. Cate: Department of Political Science, Seattle University, Seattle, WA 98122, USA

Social Sciences, 2025, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-33

Abstract: One of the most prevailing arguments and goals for prison reform in the U.S. today is to “cut costs.” This austerity approach often directly undermines the pay, treatment, and conditions of those who work in prisons, which has deadly on-the-ground consequences. Using observable correlations between austerity, conditions of correctional work, and conditions of prison I develop a theoretical explanation for how an austerity approach to “fixing” prisons makes these institutions less safe and contributes to privatization. Correctional workers are key to prison safety and are often overlooked or vilified at the expense of forging effective and lasting solutions to the carceral crisis.

Keywords: prison mortality; correctional workers; austerity; critical prison studies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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