Should EU governments allow private companies to operate prisons?
Private prisons are incarceration centers that are run by a for-profit company instead of a government agency. The companies that operate private prisons are paid a per-diem or monthly rate for each prisoner they keep in their facilities. In 2016 8.5% of the prisoner population was housed in private prisons. This is an 8% decline since 2000. Opponents of private prisons argue that incarceration is a social responsibility and that entrusting it to for-profit companies is inhumane. Proponents argue that prisons run by private companies are consistently more cost effective than those run by government agencies.
Response rates from 520 European Union voters.
Trend of support over time for each answer from 520 European Union voters.
Loading data...
Loading chart...
Trend of how important this issue is for 520 European Union voters.
Loading data...
Loading chart...
Unique answers from European Union voters whose views went beyond the provided options.
Based on 520 responses to this question.
These results come from VOTA'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).
VOTA is non-partisan — we don't advocate for any party, candidate, or position. We report what the public tells us.
Writing about this issue? Use the live data and link back to the full results.
