John Major is wrong when he suggests only violent offenders should be automatically locked up – and as a non-violent ex-offender I should know. But focusing on the number of prisoners in Britain is a distraction from the real issue: reoffending. British prisons churn out prisoners who simply go on to commit more crime. Given what goes on behind bars, it’s little surprise.
A functioning, effective prison system should teach inmates to respect rules and behave in a proper manner so that they are more likely to be productive and law-abiding members of society on release. Many prisoners, however, learn a different lesson in jail: that breaking rules pays off.
At HMP Wandsworth, where I spent time after being convicted of fraud, a prisoner assaulted his elderly cellmate so violently that the man was hospitalised. The prison responded to this by placing the offender in a single cell. Separating this man from others made sense, but ultimately it meant he was rewarded for his behaviour with privacy and more space. This man – who was considered a risk to others – was later handed one of the best ‘jobs’ in prison, which entailed roaming freely about the prison gardens. Another man smashed up his cell, ripping fittings from the wall. Officers found an Xbox to placate him.
A new officer might tell a prisoner to stop vaping, only to be laughed at by prisoners
In British prisons every week, such incidents are common. By contrast, a prisoner who quietly follows the rules will probably have a much worse time inside. Those who keep their heads down are often not even able to access essentials like soap or loo roll. The scarcity of such essentials creates an incentive to grab and hoard what’s available, further encouraging anti-social behaviour.
Incentives matter. And in our prisons, disruptive and aggressive behaviour is often rewarded or, at least, not properly punished. So why would we expect prisoners to behave well after release when they’ve spent years in such a system?
It’s easy to blame prison officers, but prisons are short-staffed. Officers are often inexperienced and choose the easiest solution to the problem in front of them – even if this means ignoring rules. Prisons like Wandsworth have a ‘no vaping on the landings’ rule. In theory, prisoners are only allowed to vape in their cells; in fact, I saw prisoners and staff both vape in prohibited areas.
Occasionally a new officer might tell a prisoner to stop vaping, only to be laughed at by prisoners and other officers. Again, the lesson is plain: don’t respect the rules. After all, even the people in charge don’t.
This attitude helps explain why inmates reoffend: we make few serious efforts to prepare prisoners for becoming productive members of society on release. The education courses available in closed prisons are often low quality and the qualifications they provide are not always recognised outside the prison system.
Open prisons, where inmates can pursue meaningful external qualifications – or even work on day release to earn money and pay taxes – are an exception. These jails are better at helping inmates develop skills, making them more employable. But in other prisons, inmates are simply locked away until it’s their turn to be released.
Reoffending costs the UK billions of pounds a year – and makes our streets more dangerous. The ‘proven reoffending rate’ has declined from around 30 per cent to 25 per cent in recent years, according to the Ministry of Justice. On the face of it. this sounds like good news. However, over the same period the detection rate for crime has collapsed from 20 per cent to 6 per cent. With the police solving so few crimes, the actual reoffending rate is likely to be much higher.
We need a prison system that teaches the right values and skills from the moment inmates arrive until the day of their release. Otherwise, our high level of reoffending will continue to cost and harm us all.
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