Share | I like these proposals. They are fresh and challenging. The truth about prison is that it is a very good place to keep people out of society-away from potential victims. The truth about that is that prisoners dont feel part of society.
For many prisoners simply trying to get to grips with the idea that someone else matters is a big deal. Many lack empathy-that's why they persistently commit crime. The most important person in their world is them. They are in fact their entire world.
Giving a prisoner a conscience, making them empathise with others will reduce offending-that and addressing issues such as not being able to read and write, drug addiction and alcohol abuse. Many prisoners I have met are angry. That needs to be addressed.
There are too many prisoners who require access to resources in prison who cannot access them fully because resources are limited.
I have heard people describe prison as a holiday camp. I have been in the prisons of the North East and in Belmarsh, London. I cant describe any as a holiday camp. What do people mean by that? I guess the feeling is that if prison is an awful place people wont wish to return. The last thing any person committing an offence thinks about is the punishment.
Recently on FiveLive when the sentencing of offenders was discussed one caller described how a person he knew and had visited in Notingham Prison viewed it as a "holiday camp". Its not a horrible place but HM Inspectorate's latest report doesn't describe a holiday camp.
In the Green Paper questions are asked as to how sentencing can be explained better to the public. Apart from organising visits to prison for those who would like to feed the animals I guess more documentaries that accurately show what goes on in prison would help.
I have also heard people saying that prisoners have more rights (or more human rights) than the victims-what does that mean? How can a person in custody have more human rights than someone not in custody? Prisons are cramped-prisoners spend lots of time locked up unless they are lucky enough to have a job and violence and the threat of violence along with drug abuse is rife.
One of the reasons that Labour introduced IPP sentences is because they wanted to be seen to be tough. They wanted to put the victim first. How IPP sentences affect families of offenders is of little concern to most people but if what IPP sentences does to offenders and families (as set out in an article on Guardian online by Charlotte Rowles) was taking place abroad there would be uproar.
The whole point about the criminal justice system is that the defendant is at the centre of it. Efforts to move the focus to victims or to introduce "punishment" so as to placate the editors of UK tabloids (without properly assessing the worth of the proposals or properly funding the processes) has created a mess. The Green paper addresses IPP sentences.
This is the start of a consultation-well worth taking part in.
For many prisoners simply trying to get to grips with the idea that someone else matters is a big deal. Many lack empathy-that's why they persistently commit crime. The most important person in their world is them. They are in fact their entire world.
Giving a prisoner a conscience, making them empathise with others will reduce offending-that and addressing issues such as not being able to read and write, drug addiction and alcohol abuse. Many prisoners I have met are angry. That needs to be addressed.
There are too many prisoners who require access to resources in prison who cannot access them fully because resources are limited.
I have heard people describe prison as a holiday camp. I have been in the prisons of the North East and in Belmarsh, London. I cant describe any as a holiday camp. What do people mean by that? I guess the feeling is that if prison is an awful place people wont wish to return. The last thing any person committing an offence thinks about is the punishment.
Recently on FiveLive when the sentencing of offenders was discussed one caller described how a person he knew and had visited in Notingham Prison viewed it as a "holiday camp". Its not a horrible place but HM Inspectorate's latest report doesn't describe a holiday camp.
In the Green Paper questions are asked as to how sentencing can be explained better to the public. Apart from organising visits to prison for those who would like to feed the animals I guess more documentaries that accurately show what goes on in prison would help.
I have also heard people saying that prisoners have more rights (or more human rights) than the victims-what does that mean? How can a person in custody have more human rights than someone not in custody? Prisons are cramped-prisoners spend lots of time locked up unless they are lucky enough to have a job and violence and the threat of violence along with drug abuse is rife.
One of the reasons that Labour introduced IPP sentences is because they wanted to be seen to be tough. They wanted to put the victim first. How IPP sentences affect families of offenders is of little concern to most people but if what IPP sentences does to offenders and families (as set out in an article on Guardian online by Charlotte Rowles) was taking place abroad there would be uproar.
The whole point about the criminal justice system is that the defendant is at the centre of it. Efforts to move the focus to victims or to introduce "punishment" so as to placate the editors of UK tabloids (without properly assessing the worth of the proposals or properly funding the processes) has created a mess. The Green paper addresses IPP sentences.
This is the start of a consultation-well worth taking part in.
No comments:
Post a Comment