Tuesday 5 November 2019

Prison : Time to Change?

Once again thanks go to regular reader and contributor 'Getafix for unearthing the following discussion piece from Varsity, the independent student newspaper for the University of Cambridge:- 

Prison should be a place of rehabilitation, not reprimand

Olivia Millard discusses the benefits of pursuing rehabilitory reforms in correctional facilities, and the need for compassion in order to support a functioning, inclusive society.

Seventy percent of prisoners re-offend. This is, of course, for a multitude of reasons, but suggests that the prison system is not achieving what it was designed to do: prevent crime. During a prison sentence, parole seems like light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. But the reality is that it doesn’t get much lighter. People are being given sleeping bags upon their release from jail, so low are the chances that they will secure housing and employment. In 2010, only 12% of employers surveyed said that they had recently employed somebody with a criminal record.

This pattern is blindingly obvious on a worldwide scale. In 2018, 41% of American prisoners did not hold a high school diploma. These statistics show an undeniable link between the education system and prisoner population, suggesting that the necessary reforms in the prison system would mean uprooting a significant sector of society, which would of course take time.

By mainly focusing on punishment, the British penal system is only addressing the ‘effect’ element of a ‘cause and effect’ problem, and there begins the vicious cycle that is caused by reoffending. Prison is actively counterproductive for certain crimes, particularly those drug-related, and as prisoners’ mental and physical health is suffering because of funding cuts, with 83 self-inflicted deaths in 2018, it’s time to use the limited money available on rehabilitation and resettlement programmes.

Prior to governmental funding cuts, steps have been made towards improving the education opportunities prisons offer. In 2016, the RAND Corporation in America released a report showing that the pursual of educational programmes in jail reduced the likelihood of returning to prison by 43%. However, due to funding cuts, the number of people who have achieved A Level grades whilst in prison is now 10% of what it was 10 years ago.

Last year, as part of the Learning Together initiative, I, alongside a dozen first-year French students, visited HMP Whitemoor, a high-security male prison, to discuss French literature with a group of inmates. Founded by Drs Ruth Armstrong and Amy Ludlow, Learning Together is prison-based education in the sense of bringing students from outside and within prison together to learn together. Its motto is “Education as the practice of freedom,” and even if physical freedom isn’t on the cards, what is offered in terms of mental emancipation is invaluable.

The course was inspiring in ways that we’d never considered beforehand, with our course boosting not only the prisoners’ self-confidence, but also our own, which will hopefully open gateways to further education and creativity for both groups. HMP Whitemoor is a prison which focuses on settlement (helping the convicted make positive use of their sentences) and resettlement (reducing the risk of reoffending), but many of these opportunities are not offered at other prisons.

Despite the circumstantial differences between the two groups, which became most obvious to me when one Whitemoor student mentioned “I’ve never seen an iPhone before,” there was a sense of community was far more overpowering. One inmate referred to the “wider community outside prison” he now feels he belongs to, and talked of the hope “for a future where we will one day re-join the community.” A community represents a support network, vital to thriving on the outside. It is all too easy for inmates to become “institutionalized” during extended sentences which can only be detrimental to their return to society.

Speaking to many people about the course, words like “naïve” and “innocent” frequently come up, as I repeat how welcoming and open the atmosphere was inside, as people initially doubt how discussing medieval French verse with prisoners is beneficial. In my opinion, it is more naive to consider the concepts of crime and punishment in black and white: the latter does not necessarily prevent the recurrence of the former. Furthermore, it is important to question the dichotomy between perpetrator and victim: all too often those who have committed crimes are in fact victims themselves of poverty, abuse or addiction. Whilst I acknowledge that a lot of crimes meriting extended sentences do indeed deserve punishment, I maintain that prison is not the correct form of ‘punishment’ for many other crimes.

Horace Mann, an American educational reformer, once called education “the great equalizer,” but surely this concept only works if the most vulnerable members of society have access to it. Illiteracy is a serious barrier to re-entry into society. 50% of prisoners have the literacy age of an 11 year old. Limited phone credit and rare visits mean a lot of letter-writing to stay in contact, but not being able to read these letters means a stronger sense of isolation than ever. On a practical level, not being able to fill out menus or read notices detailing what happens on what day in prison hugely exacerbates the day-to-day trials of living in prison, and can also contribute significantly to mental health issues, like depression.

An important step towards understanding the current system is to acknowledge that prisons today are nothing like the media present them. With the combination of education and a more open societal mindset towards prison and resettlement within society, I believe that rates of re-offence would decrease enormously. Whitemoor is no Shawshank, and there is a definite gap between the way in which the media presents prisons and how prisoners experience them. Britain has the highest incarceration rate in Western Europe, and if it is not benefiting those it is designed to help, surely it is time to change.

Olivia Millard

4 comments:

  1. Report on HMP Cardiff out today that seems to buck the national trend.
    Interestingly it notes that what's done with offenders in custody is only part of the answer. There's plenty more that needs to change in a social context before real success can be seen.
    Prison by itself is not a conclusive solution to stop reoffending.

    https://www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-wales-50289223?amp_js_v=a2&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQCKAE%3D#aoh=15729478618890&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s

    'Getafix

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    1. Two thirds of female prisoners being discharged homeless, and Boris talking bo****ks.

      https://www-independent-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/boris-johnson-police-officers-recruit-extra-prisons-courts-a9185706.html?amp_js_v=a2&amp_gsa=1&amp&usqp=mq331AQCKAE%3D#aoh=15729712851528&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fuk%2Fhome-news%2Fboris-johnson-police-officers-recruit-extra-prisons-courts-a9185706.html

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    2. The justice system may be unable to cope with the consequences of Boris Johnson’s pledge to hire 20,000 extra police officers, MPs have warned.

      The Public Accounts Committee said civil servants could not predict the full impact of the uplift, which is expected to lead to more prosecutions and prison sentences.

      “Given the operational and financial pressure that court, prison and probation services are already under, it is far from certain the Ministry of Justice will have the capacity and capability to cope with a significant rise in demand,” its report concluded.

      “The government has a track record of changing one element of a system without fully recognising the consequences for the rest of the system, or across other government departments.”


      Mr Johnson has made justice reforms a cornerstone of his policies heading into December’s general election, although experts have warned that they will not undo almost a decade of austerity.

      A recent inspection by the policing watchdog found that the performance of forces across the country was still falling, with prosecutions plummeting and the number of court trials at a record low.

      The recruitment of 20,000 extra officers would not cover all those lost since 2010 and the head of the National Police Chiefs’ Council has said up to half a million applicants may be needed to meet the target.

      The Public Accounts Committee said the planned increase, combined with Conservative pledges to lengthen prison sentences for some crimes, will increase the number of people being prosecuted, going to court, being jailed and being supervised by probation services.

      MPs said the changes could create a huge spike in demand but that the Ministry of Justice was “still quantifying the potential scale of the change” because it depends on how the extra officers are deployed.

      Officials told the committee that their greatest concern was a significant increase in the prison population, amid violence, self-harm, overcrowding and dire conditions in many jails.

      Mr Johnson has promised to create 10,000 new prison places by 2023 and pledged new security funding but MPs said there was also concern about the capacity of the probation services to cope with increased demand.

      “Sustained cuts to the Ministry of Justice’s funding have put services under strain,” the report said. “While the ministry received a 4.9-per-cent increase in the 2019-20 spending round, it is not clear if this will be enough to match new demands.”

      It also questioned the capacity of crown and magistrates’ court to handle an increase caseload, amid a backlog of criminal cases, limited sitting days and maintenance problems.

      A separate report published by the Lord Chief Justice on Tuesday raised concern about “poor conditions” in ageing court buildings.

      Lord Burnett said pressure was rising “against the reality of extremely tight resources”, adding: “It is a matter of regret that resources have not been made available by government to begin to tackle the backlog of repairs and maintenance needed in the court estate.”

      A total of 127 courts have been closed since 2015 and 77 more are set for the axe, despite concerns over the impact on access for people on low incomes, with disabilities and from rural areas.

      “These courts were closed before services were moved online, meaning that many people are having to travel further to attend court,” the Public Accounts Committee said.

      “HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) risks undermining public confidence in the fairness of the justice system by proceeding with its reforms without sufficiently demonstrating it understands the impact on justice outcomes or people.”

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    3. A £1.2bn programme to modernise courts by digitising services, moving cases online and introducing virtual hearings was originally due to be finished next year but has been extended to 2023.

      MPs said the delay was partly because new laws needed to effect the changes have not been passed because of restrictions on parliamentary time caused by Mr Johnson’s prorogation and general elections.

      The committee said it was “not convinced” that the current deadline for reforms could be met, or that they are delivering the improvements promised.

      It found that although £133m has so far been saved from cuts to administrative, judicial and property costs, the government cannot prove a link between the money and its reforms.

      MPs demanded to see a plan to maintain justice services in the face of rising demand within six months.

      Meg Hillier, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “Proposed increases in police numbers and changes to sentencing could lead to a huge spike in demand as more people are prosecuted, affecting justice services already under considerable strain.

      “HMCTS must ensure that further reforms, particularly those that include closing more courts do not mean citizens lose access to justice which would undermine public confidence in the fairness of the justice system.”

      A spokesperson for HMCTS said it would consider the report's findings and respond fully in due course, adding: “We have been working with partners to forecast the impact 20,000 extra police officers will have across the criminal justice system and are confident our courts will be able to manage the increased demand."

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