As a former prison governor, I welcome the revival of “time off for good behaviour”, familiar to us in the 1980s (Labour to abolish most short prison sentences in England and Wales, 24 August). But for it to succeed, prisoners must have the chance to show positivity and a will to change.
At present, too many are locked in conditions that amount to solitary confinement, with illicit drugs as their main form of relief. Such a regime means that only those who are already motivated – or organised criminals running their empires from inside – can benefit. For the rest, the system offers little more than stagnation.
