Tory bloggers spearheaded by Alan Drew of Daily Propaganda (pictured) have launched Prisons Works today, a web which proves that prisons work as the best deterrent for crime.
He has sourced an amazing collection of reports and data to back his claim and I shall soon be adding to his site with a report on women prisoners.
It’s clear that we also need a review on how our prisons are run, perhaps Jeffrey can help out with this.
Thanks for the support – even though you were involved!
The prison system evolved from the decline of transportation to Australia. Contrary to popular belief they have not “always been there”. In the Middle Ages, they considered it very cruel to keep people locked up for long periods of time.
When Australia refused to take any more criminals, the Victorians built the prison system. So we’ve moved from a sort of external exile to an internal exile.
Personally I do not agree that prison works. I also think it is cruel to lock people up for long periods of time. 80% of prisoners are mentally ill. They require good psychiatric care rather than being locked up for years.
Yes, there are certain cases i.e. Huntley, Rose West etc. where prison is necessary. But there are many cases where prison serves no purpose. Interesting that you mention Jeffrey – what was the point of sending him to prison?
Prison should only be used where the individual poses a danger to society. Often the humiliation of the trial and conviction is punishment enough for some people.
If these guys think that prison works, why is there such a high reoffending rate amongst ex-prisoners? All the criminologists that I spoke to while I studied Law were of the same opinion. Prison, generally speaking, as a punishment, does not work.
also think it is cruel to lock people up for long periods of time. 80% of prisoners are mentally ill. They require good psychiatric care rather than being locked up for years.
It is considerably more than “cruel” to allow people to suffer the unwanted attention of criminal activity. You are right that a huge number of people in prison have a mental illness, and that the prison mops up the mess made by our care system. But there is no reason why we cannot offer services to people whilst they are in secure accommodation. The fact that this does not happen now is a wrong and something we wish to address.
If these guys think that prison works, why is there such a high reoffending rate amongst ex-prisoners?
There is also a high reoffending rate with a lot of non-custodial sentences. And whether you think prison works depends on how you define “works”. If you measure prison’s success on reoffending rates, then yes, prisons do not work. However, if you measure their success on the number of crimes committed, they work very well. If your priority is to cut crime, as is ours, then prisons will do that. Of course, all but the most dangerous prisoners will eventually be released, so you have to address reoffending rates. This is something we intend on doing – we hope we will be able to reduce crime AND reoffending rates.
We maintain prisons work – if we make them.
Too many people are let out too soon. The case of Prince Nasser Hamid (sp), the former boxer who was released to cheering crowds and the comment by him “At least he didn’t die” is awful.
Tom, I expected you to have a special interest in this subject due to your legal background, but please check out Alan’s site and study his data and the evidence he has collected and then post another comment. This is such a complicated subject, and one I have no specialised knowledge in.
However,if people with mental illness were given the correct treatment/support in the first place, they propbably would not have offended. Does it mean you are not a criminal if you have a mental illness? Sane people don’t commit murder.
Prisons always are a last resort, but we don’t seem to have an effective alternative, electronic tagging is a waste of time as it can just be ripped off.
A criminal can only rehabilitated if he wants to, there will always be those who reoffend continually, they know no other way of life. Those who genuinely want to turn their lives around need support from family and friends which many of them don’t have.
Alan, thanks for your insightful comments too. I’ll bring your new site to the attention of The Magistrates blog and maybe he can get a converstation going too which will also address all these issues, as well as the point raised by Jean-Luc.
Alan, I’m really pleased with the great coverage your site has had today from ConservativeHome and Iain Dale. I was delighted to help with your press release. Good luck.
Ellee
Thank you for your help – the press release hit the button, as evident from my last email 🙂