Why might privatization of jails be a good idea?

If privatization is done correctly, it can be a good
thing.  However, it can potentially be dangerous as
well.

Private companies are, of course, looking to make as
much profit as possible.  This will mean that they will look for ways to cut costs when
they run prisons.  This could be a good thing if their cost-cutting is limited to areas
where it is safe to cut costs.  If this happens, they will still deliver vital services
while saving the government money by cutting back on
extras.

However, it could be that prison companies will cut
costs in areas that are inappropriate.  They might be less worried about providing a
safe environment for prisoners.  They might be less worried about doing anything to
rehabilitate the prisoners.  These are things that might be important but might also be
ignored by a for-profit company.

Therefore, privatization
could be good so long as the government makes very clear what services must be provided
and at what level of quality.  If that is done, private companies can probably save the
taxpayers money.