Painting a picture of the inside of the country’s prisons does not exactly provide hope either. With England and Wales having the highest imprisonment rate in western Europe, HMP’s countrywide are subject to massive overcrowding. The state of the inside of our nation’s prisons is pretty grim too; in 2023, there were 311 deaths in prison custody, of which around a third were self-inflicted, the food is meagre at best, clothes go unwashed for days, and addiction rates are alarming. It seems that UK prisons’ greatest achievement is their constant compounding of inequalities, as the working class and ethnic minorities are greatly overrepresented in the justice system.
even though the inmates have made mistakes, some very serious mistakes at that, they still deserve to be treated with respect.
So, what alternatives do we have? One alternative goes back to that age old saying of ‘prevention is better than cure.’ This starts in childhood, at school and in the home. Nurturing the future generations and providing them with greater opportunities could go a long way. For example, diagnosing and treating those with mental illnesses, which are another overrepresented demographic, at an early age could drastically reduce offending rates. Another option would be to follow a model similar to that of Scandinavia. Petter, an inmate at Bastoy prison, Norway, serving 14 years for drug smuggling, stated that, “they give us trust and responsibility.” Other prisoners speak of the education, training, and skill-building programmes they have access to. A certain compassion can be seen here, that even though the inmates have made mistakes, some very serious mistakes at that, they still deserve to be treated with respect. The success of this model is clearly reflected in the reoffending rates of the countries, with those released from Bastoy being around 20%. This brings me to my last possibility, rehabilitation. Particularly relating to non-violent crimes, which make up 61% of all those serving in HMPs in England and Wales, should we not focus on giving these inmates a second chance in society?
Nonetheless, we must look at the viability of these options. For example, following the Scandinavian model is perhaps not possible, as the financial implications are immense. A place at Halden prison, Norway, costs around double the price compared to an English Category A prison. It also must be taken into account the aspect of public safety. Do we really want murderers, rapists, and other violent criminals on our streets? The bottom line is that yes, we do need prisons – to keep the public safe, and to rehabilitate ex-convicts – but we must make a change to the current system, which has been proven to not work.
