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Prisoners as Customers or Clients?
Author(s) -
McGuire Linda
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
australian journal of public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-8500
pISSN - 0313-6647
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8500.1997.tb01276.x
Subject(s) - commission , service (business) , business , legal service , service delivery framework , public relations , public administration , management , marketing , law , political science , economics , finance
Is the market for prisons or prisoners? The question remains unresolved by the debate between Sue Vardon, former Director‐General, Department of Correctional Services, South Australia, and Patrick Weller, former Chairman, Corrective Services Commission, Queensland, in the March issue of this journal. Both asked whether prisoners are customers or clients of corrective service agencies. The distinction between clients as customers and clients as consumers in service delivery has important implications for the performance management of prisons, yet was ignored in the Vardon/Weller interchange. This distinction has implications for prisons and public services generally.