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@ISIDEWITHQuestionsCriminal IssuesStarted 7yrs agoActive 2wks ago

Should the government hire private companies to run prisons?

Since the early 1990s, British Governments have issued contracts to private firms for both the construction and the day-to-day running of prisons. The privatization of some prison services was pursued to cope with the problems of overcrowding in the UK’s prisons and to spread the costs of interning offenders. There are currently 14 private prisons in the U.K. who house around 15% of the prison population. Opponents argue that the concept of prison care is antithetical to the notion of commercial business and that it is morally inappropriate to profit from the punishment of offenders. Proponents argue that private prisons are are incentivised to operate more efficiently and can bring benefits to U.K. taxpayer.

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 245k UK voters.

24%
Yes
76%
No
14%
Yes
68%
No
10%
Yes, but they should be strictly regulated to prevent mismanagement and corruption
8%
No, private prisons will sacrifice quality of care and rehabilitation services for profit
1%
Yes, but eliminate contractual occupancy quotas

Historical Support

Trend of support over time for each answer from 245k UK voters.

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Historical Importance

Trend of how important this issue is for 245k UK voters.

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from UK voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @BDZW44Banswered…2wks2W

Only if the family of the ‘victims’ have to pay for the imprisonment.

 @BDG7XNNanswered…2mos2MO

I think it could benefit but would have to be robustly trialed and not all prisons

 @BD5KPGBanswered…2mos2MO

All prisons should be private, and they should only host violent and abusive citizens.

 @BCXJK43answered…2mos2MO

Un knowledgable

 @BCWVB59from Rhode Island  answered…2mos2MO

Yes, but cut all subsidies and let them fail as businesses if the public starts to disapprove.

 @BB4RW8Canswered…4mos4MO

No, but we need a a greater standard of prisons and prisoner care that meets reforms prisoners and offers standards inline with the human rights charter but also greater funding for prison officers to increase numbers and safety

 @B2XZTG5answered…1yr1Y

No one should run them Prisons are an unjust form of punishment, the punishment does not fit the crime and actually makes the crime paid for by the innocent members of society

 @B8TPPX6answered…7mos7MO

This should never be a consideration. Private prisons exist in the USA, and they are hellish. A company that is in charge of ANY essential service will gladly sacrifice any human rights norm in exchange for profit. Prisons, especially, should not be considered for privatisation because there will invariably be insane human rights abuses in them if this were to be the case.

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Active 2mos ago

 @ISIDEWITHDiscuss this answer...…6yrs6Y

Should critical race theory be taught in K-12 education?

No

▲  19.8k6 replies4 agree1 disagree

About This Data

Based on 245k responses to this question.

These results come from iSideWith's ongoing political issues survey. We collect over a million responses per day, filter out duplicate and multiple submissions, and break the results down by political party, ideology, age, state, and census demographics (income, race, education, household).

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iSideWith. (2026). “Should the government hire private companies to run prisons?” — Public Opinion Poll Results. Retrieved June 25, 2026, from https://uk.isidewith.com/polls/3644847244

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