Prisons: A Systemic Failure

Liz Truss, the Justice Secretary, has not addressed the problem of overcrowded prisons. She has addressed the theory of overcrowded prisons with a wordy speech, typical of the modern political class of careerist climbers. There is no quick fix she says. Well there has to be because the prisons are in crisis and action is needed now, at least to ease the pressure on inadequate accommodation, too few staff and too many prisoners. This is because of a deliberate policy of longer sentences, dysfunctional rehabilitation programmes and cuts both in staff and the volume of places. We send more people to jail than any other country in Europe with less success at stopping re-offending. The prisons are now run not by the authorities but by drug cartels. None of this is by misfortune. It is the direct consequence of bad decisions by successive governments, mostly Tory.

Prison is for offenders who are a danger to the public. While in there it must be a requirement to rehabilitate and retrain offenders to return to society reformed and straight. There will be a hard-core who are beyond redemption and some who can never be set free, but these are a minority. Non dangerous first offenders should go to a different kind of institution with a better form of punishment combined with restitution for those damaged by their acts.

There have to be enough prison places to meet demand, enough trained staff to run them and enough security not just to keep people in, but to keep drugs out. None of this, absolutely none of it, should be outsourced to private contractors. If ever there was no place for shareholder profit, it is in this critical public service. What we want from Liz Truss is an action plan to put our broken prison estate back together. Her speech did not deliver one.