Some 371 people died in prison custody in 2021 – the equivalent of more than one a day. Many of these deaths were coronavirus-related. Tragically, 86 took their own lives, up from 67 the previous year.
*shrugs* A few - innocent - people took their own lives thanks to the effects of lockdown too. No tears for them, Frances?
Strict coronavirus restrictions in prisons have left tens of thousands of people locked in their cells for 23 hours a day for months on end.
And millions of - innocent! - people trapped behind their own front doors by government decree. But no tears for them, eh, Frances?
Prison reform has long been one of those political hot potatoes that few politicians are willing to tackle sensibly, all too aware that they will be accused of being “soft on crime” or “not on the side of victims”.
Rightly so. So what?
What we really need is reform of the entire prison system, starting with an increase in funding for healthcare and palliative support. Not only is it the right thing to do, it will also save taxpayers’ money in the long run by improving prisoners’ health and helping to nurture future rehabilitated citizens.
But look at the levels of recidivism. Who wants to take the risk that they are rehabilitated?
Prisons are too often used as a solution to social problems; a civilised – and smart – society would spend its resources on tackling poverty rather than building more cells.
Is it 'poverty' that drives crimes like these, then? Pretty hard to believe, Frances...
As a former public prosecutor, Keir Starmer is in a better position than most to challenge the government to adopt an evidence-based approach to prisons without Johnson being able to accuse him of being “soft” on crime.
Looking at his record, I rather think you've lost the plot, if you could be said to have ever had one.
5 comments:
There is a correlation between crime and poverty, but correlation is not causation. The real causation is not that poverty breeds crime, but vice versa, as crime breeds poverty. You only have to look at the damage caused by (say) burglary relative to the benefits for burglars, or the damage to a car just to steal a radio (in my case, when the radio only filled a hole in the dash and didn't actually work!)
To recite the poverty breeds crime mantra is a continuing insult to our forebears who struggled to build lives amidst penury.
And yes, prisons do need reform. They need to be a punishment for criminals, and a deterrent to crime.
Prisons need to look after their staff better than they look after their prisoners instead of the other way round. A friend works in the prison service and the stories which come out about they way staff are treated are awful. Bullying and cronyism are rife, back-covering is endemic and those who are supposed to be doing it couldn't even spell "management"..
"What we really need is reform of the entire prison system"
I completely agree. I would start by flushing the Playstations down the toilet, then removing the toilets and replacing them with buckets
There's a quote lefties love, "There are no bad people, just people who did bad things." Yeah, right.
Rehab doesn't work reliably - remember the reformed jihadist on London Bridge stopped with a narwhal tusk?
Oh, and could you highlight links in a different colour if they go to the Grauniad? - it's an unpleasant experience there, what with the demands for money and all the other crap.
"The real causation is not that poverty breeds crime, but vice versa, as crime breeds poverty."
Theodore Dalrymple's writings tell us that, but no-one in authority seems to care...
"Prisons need to look after their staff better than they look after their prisoners instead of the other way round. "
And prison officers need to see themselves as zookeepers. Not social workers.
" I would start by flushing the Playstations down the toilet, then removing the toilets and replacing them with buckets"
That's what I call a start!
"Oh, and could you highlight links in a different colour if they go to the Grauniad?"
I wish Blogger allowed that!
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