Building a “Social Reintegration Support System” Together with the Local CommunityToward the Realization of the Shimane Asahi Model

Significance of Establishing a Prison Through Public-Private Partnership The Shimane Asahi Social Reintegration Center is a correctional facility operated in part by private enterprises. A wide range of operations are outsourced to the private sector, while the management of the on-site medical clinic for inmates is entrusted to the Shimane Prefectural Government.
Until now, prisons have been facilities far removed from society, and the public has had little knowledge of the realities of these facilities. Amid rising crime and the resulting problem of prison overcrowding, however, a pressing need arose to rapidly develop new facilities within the constraints of limited staffing levels. At the same time, as part of a broader regulatory reform movement to open up government-controlled markets to the private sector, there was a growing view that functions within prisons that could be outsourced should in fact be entrusted to private entities. Within the broader movement of correctional reform aimed at creating “prisons that are understood and supported by the public,” public–private partnership prisons were established. The participation of private-sector operators in prison management is considered to be of significant importance.

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