Prisons in the UK are dangerously overcrowded. That is unfortunately just the truth. By November, it’s predicted that without any intervention, prisons will be at their max capacity. Initially, to solve this, Prime Minister Andy Burnham set out to release 6,000 prisoners in September.
Surprisingly enough, this idea hasn’t quite taken well with the public, with some prisoners only having served one third of their set sentence, this announcement was met with less of a standing ovation and more of a general public outcry of injustice.
However, we are unfortunately at our breaking point, with the male prison system at an alarming 98% capacity...
The concept of releasing thousands of prisoners seems at first glance, and second glance, and all glances for that matter, a risky move. However, we are unfortunately at our breaking point, with the male prison system at an alarming 98% capacity, it’s indisputable that some form of emergency measures must be put in place, because unfortunately a 2% leeway isn’t going to solve itself.
Not only are prison officers profusely overworked and understaffed, but prisoner safety is also at a heightened risk, with little to no funding to improve the worsening living conditions, and any form of rehabilitation within the prison system receiving even less.
After public outcry, Burnhams’ original plan had been tailored to release 1,000 fewer people by October rather than September, with an exclusion of ‘serious offenders’ including rapists, groomers and serious child sex offenders. Whilst the prime minister explained that he wanted to exclude more, the prison overcrowding and capacity simply made this unrealistic, leaving the government stuck between a rock and a very claustrophobic hard place. Therefore, it appears that this early release may be less of a confident initiative but rather a forced emergency plan, with potentially dire future consequences.
Justice, it seems, is truly blind when it comes to a timeframe.
The public, and some victims of some of the prisoners evidently haven’t taken this scheme lightly. Their frustration not rooting from the fast-tracked prison sentence, but its contradiction to the potential years their case took to even reach the courtroom in the first place. When a case can take so long, retelling the same traumatic experience, to then find out your perpetrator is being released in a matter of months, despite not completing their full sentence, can feel like a slap in the face.
The harsh reality of an overcrowded system cannot be ignored; however, this offers little to no comfort to those involved. Justice, it seems, is truly blind when it comes to a timeframe.
Now it’s evident that the victims aren’t the beneficiaries of this early release system, but are the prisoners? It’s easy to see a headline, watch a video of a prisoner being released early and feel a sense of anger and injustice; they’ve got it easy right? Unfortunately, this is far from reality. After being sent to prison, the lack of attention to general capacity in the prison is clear, but what’s detrimental is the lack of attention to self-improvement within the prison itself.
The lack of funding towards any retribution or rehabilitation is colossal, its failure to provide any adequate rehabilitation programs often leaves prisoners trapped inside cells for hours on end, with no educational benefits nor mental health support or preparation for society. Even when given the early release, they’re sent away into wider society with this lack of support, no stable accommodation or employment, often leading to an inevitable resort to criminality again.
This brings me to the larger issue at hand; reoffences. The criminal system resorts to embodying this revolving door: a crime is committed, they must go through the courts system then go to prison where little to no rehabilitation is supported, then receive an early release, in which this euphoria lasts a solid 5 seconds as they leave the gate, slapped with the reality “Where do I go now?”, ultimately deviance and criminality is their only solution, leading them back where they started, behind bars.
Until we address what happens inside the prisons, rather than shortening the timeframe of them, the early release system may do nothing but harm.
So, what is the solution? How does the prison system efficiently function. Evidently, it’s not a clear-cut solution, if it were, perhaps prisons wouldn’t be at such a squash and a squeeze. The government has a genuine problem, but early release merely treats the immediate short-term issues we’re facing rather than the root of the issue, like putting a plaster on an amputation.
This symptomatic treatment therefore may be a temporary quick fix, but support for prisoners within prisons is unfortunately severely underfunded. Until we address what happens inside the prisons, rather than shortening the timeframe of them, the early release system may do nothing but harm.