Do Prisons Work

Do prisons work? Essay plan

Success or failure of prisons must be measured against the Aims of the prison service:  Detain securely  Rehabilitate  Provide purposeful activity  Protect society

Yes prisons work  Hold securely  Protect society from violent and dangerous offenders  Demonstrate societies disapproval  Declining absconsion /escape rates  Purposeful activities  Rehabilitations schemes  Not all re-offend  Falling crime (but probably for reasons other than prisons)

No prisons don’t work:  Recidivism  Rapid increase in numbers  Failure of short sentences  Overcrowding – Scottish / UK figures  Violence / suicide  Don’t address underlying problems enough: o drugs o alcohol o mental health o suffered abuse these need treatment not punishment  Lack of access to meaningful activity  Failure to prepare for release  Impact on prison on families – esp. when mothers jailed  Over representation of certain religious groups / minorities in jail  High cost per prisoner compared to alternatives

Use Evidence from:  Justice Committee  HM Inspector of prisons  Home office  House of Commons reports  “Inside Barlinnie” and other media items  Kenny MacAskill  Case studies: Polmont / Barlinnie / Corntonvale  Comparisons: Turkey Scandinavia – ½ the prisoners of Scotland  SPICE reports (Scottish Parliament Information Centre)  Criminal Justice Survey  Prominent authors