It is undeniable that the justice system is in complete disrepair (The Guardian view on prison overcrowding: a justice system in meltdown, 24 May) and that both victims and the accused deserve better. But the answer is neither to develop a more “efficient” way of processing offenders nor more prison-building.
Sadly, in the context of a general election, politicians of any stripe are even less likely to admit the truths we all know, not least from a stream of reports and recommendations from the prisons inspectorate, investigation and monitoring boards, reviews, inquiries, coroners’ reports, and testimony from prisoners and their families. That is: there is no evidence base for the claims that prisons keep “us” safe; nor that they deter; nor that they rehabilitate.
Further, what we do know from all official reports is that prisons are dangerous sites of demoralisation, degradation, self-harm and death. They house people who, for the most part, have been failed by the state, those who in fact require support in terms of housing, employment, addiction and mental health. Prisons and the extent of our prison population are a national shame. The perilous state of prisons and their failure will only be stopped by a radical change in sentencing policy, a halt to prison-building, dramatic reduction in the prison population and investment in communities, community services and radical alternatives to custody.
Deborah Coles Executive director, Inquest, Joe Sim Emeritus professor of criminology, Liverpool John Moores University, Steve Tombs Emeritus professor of criminology, the Open University
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