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Talking Politics
A clean (jail) break?
Fri Jul 03 11:41AM
Cherie Booth's Commission on English Prisons Today has come riding to the rescue of England's fit-to-burst places of correction. A shame it's not clear whether the politicians are listening.By Alex Stevenson
Yesterday's report is the result of two years' hard labour (pardon the pun. Sorry, pardon that pun too). It proposes a radical reduction in the number of prison places and the closure of several prison establishments, shifting the emphasis to local preventive measures.
Is this so radical? Its commissioners think not. "It's perfectly possible to have less crime, safer communities and fewer people in prison," chairman Professor David Wilson explained at today's report launch.
Accepting that's the case is actually quite easy to do. Crime levels have declined by 43 per cent, Ms Booth, claims, but prison numbers have shot up. Before the sudden rise in the prison population in 1993 there were only 42,000 inmates. Now we're close to double that level. Something's got to give.
For politicians acceptance is much harder, however. They are constantly under pressure to be harder, stricter, less compromising. That may be why today's report has tried to present a way out of this dead end.
"This is not a counsel of despair, this is a very positive report," Ms Booth told politics.co.uk. By spending public money "more wisely" the community can be made safer. "That's a win-win situation," she said.
Her upbeat approach offers a dramatic way out. If the choice is between continuing with business as usual and making a clean break, it's clear which presents a bolder option for policymakers.
This is why it may have been an error to duck out of providing any specific targets. The broad-brush approach, providing principles, was the result of a deliberate "tactical" ploy. Not all those present at the report approved, fearing it might undermine rather than enhance its effectiveness.
"There's a real danger in getting fixated with numbers," Ms Booth lamented, while Professor Ian Loader of Oxford University, a fellow commissioner, insisted a tactical mistake had yet to be made. "It's possible we might have done," he conceded.
A similar lack of specificity was present in the answer to the question from politics.co.uk, on the length of the "long-term" transition required.
"There are some things we could do pretty quickly," Ms Booth said. She is a woman in a hurry: "The question we have to deal with is happening now, and so the solution has to start happening now."
Prof Loader talked of the need for "political leadership" on these issues. Perhaps more experienced in the Westminster world herself, Ms Booth said a "political consensus" existed.
Was this a fair reflection of the commitment on show? Prisons minister Maria Eagle and her shadow counterpart, Edward Garnier, attended the report's launch. Their remarks were equally guarded, equally non-committal, demonstrating precisely the sort of equivocation not desired by Ms Booth and co.
Ms Eagle said the report was "very interesting". It would provoke "some lovely and ongoing discussions". Yes, minister. Her emphasis was especially telling. "We do have to have enough prison places for those people sent into custody," she said, at her most firmest. At least the commissioners can be encouraged she had made time in her "ridiculous diary" for the report launch.
Mr Garner was politer, but equally cautious. He said the report "makes some entirely worthwhile... recommendations".
"This is a document that should be open on every policymaker's desk, and not left on the shelf," he beamed. Take it or leave it.
Ms Booth, smiling courteously as they delivered their somewhat meaningless platitudes, knows that something must be done.
It must be the politicians who do it; there's only so much the wife of a former prime minister can do. But at least a radical solution is now on the table.
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Prisons could be emptied pretty quickly if all the Foreign Nationals were directly deported on sentencing back to where they came from. If all prisoners with minor offences, non payment of Council tax, or other such misdemeanours, were given 'Community Service in Orange jackets' instead of being put in Prison there would be more room. If all Murderers were executed there'd be even more room and f Ronnie Biggs was released likewise.
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As to Mrs Blair, she should be put in prison along side her husband!
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How about take away the luxuries like internet and top quality food for inmates because is supposed to be punishment not a holiday, get them all stationary bikes and hook them up to the national grid and have a mandatory amount of time that each one has to contribute so they generate electricity for the nation.
Then kick out the immigrants who are prisoners back to their own countries and maybe we will have enough funding for a few new prisons to accomodate the extra lags. feedback please?
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Nice post alanseymour you got it spot on.
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The aticle says that there is a concensus on what to do and that we need to accomodate people who have commited crime in prison. REALLY! 10 points!! I really don't see why they can't take away gormet food and internet from prisoners and use the extra cash to build a few more prisons!! Are politicians really that stupid! Who's with me!
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Just the sort of article you and the rest of the media can rabblerouse with, talking politics, more like talking b*****ks
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perhaps a fitting thing to do is look at what happens when a prisoner is realeased and what support system is in place for them not to end up back in prison cause no one wants to employ them at least on a living wage theres a saying you have to walk a mile in the other man shoes before you can make your comments so then perhaps we would have less people in prison a?? from me 125.
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arbiter3985: Prison should serve as both a punishment for crime, and a disincentive for committing crime. When you provide people with an average quality of life, certainly one superior to about 80% of the planet, you aren't really achieving anything. Pirsons should be more like Camp Teepee, hard labour in the sun, with heavy woollen stiped overalls, tents for accomodation and a hole for a dunny, as well as food that makes the stomach turn. On top of that, this camp, located in Southern USA, forces the inmates to wear, under their thick overalls, skimpy pink undies so they have a choice, work in heavy thick overalls or look like a fool. The Camp Supervisor has an open door policy for complaints though, inevitably, when someone complains, he simply tells them "You don't like it? Don't come back!". Prison is supposed to be hard work, and prisoners are supposed to suffer. It's not like we have the death penalty or anything.
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perhaps a fitting thing to do is look at what happens when a prisoner is realeased and what support system is in place for them not to end up back in prison cause no one wants to employ them at least on a living wage theres a saying you have to walk a mile in the other man shoes before you can make your comments so then perhaps we would have less people in prison a?? from me 125.
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Ok its only the immigration holding centres that have gormet food and internet access. Real prison DO NOT have internet access for obvious reasons. The food is passable and i can tell you its nowhere near gormet food. Please dont just think of the criminals serving time think of the extended family who have to suffer and the kids who most of the time end up following the criminal into prison themselves. Prison is soft because of the Human rights Bill get rid of that and send these mindless thugs to work camps and then only then will we need fewer prison places.
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Prison is a holiday camp.Playstations,good food,weekly bag of sweets and tobacco and a total lack of discipline.It is also a stressfull,boring and unrewarding place to work.The staff moral is at an all time low and the Governors are pathetic with no idea of discipline
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