Prison Reform
Jack Straw yesterday left a window open for a U-turn on prisons. The government wants short-term cost-cutting by providing their long-overdue prison places in vast 2500 cell monstrosities. Dramatically labelled “Titan Jails”, these Uber-prisons cost less to build, staff and run than two smaller ones. In return for this immediate saving, prisoners are less well cared for, more go mad, more riots take place, more suicides occur and rehabilitation is more difficult.
Most prison experts believe that smaller prisons serve the prisoner best, causing less stress and violence and allowing more respectable rehabilitation rates. Prison should, after all, be about housing those who are unfit to be be in public. Just as smaller schools work better, so smaller prisons should be constructed. Brown’s U-turn on a U-turn is unwelcome.
Now if only he would U-turn on that shocking EU decision…