In the ongoing debate about prison reform, there’s a frequent misunderstanding that such efforts equate to being lenient on crime. However, reform is a crucial component of crime prevention and societal improvement. Rather than being ‘soft’, it’s a strategic shift toward reducing future offences by addressing deeper issues within the system.
Tap Social Beer trains prisoners up at its Oxford brewery, to reduce reoffending rates. Also read how to reduce knife crime in communities.
The Purpose of Prison Reform
Rehabilitation focuses on education, mental health treatment, and skills training to help inmates reintegrate into society. Punishment alone often ignores the root causes of crime, which can lead to reoffending.
Restorative justice involves both the victim and criminal (not always from the same crime) meeting up to discuss how the crime impacts the victims. It’s not popular with right-wing MPs who wish to send everyone to prison, but it has huge percentages of success in preventing crime (especially for juvenile criminals who learn the impact of their crimes). Surely that’s what we want – to reduce crime? Here’s a case study from the website:
A man was pushing his 99-year old wheelchair-bound mum, when a boy snatched her handbag and ran off, leaving his mother screaming for help. He managed to find the boy who gave back the bag, and shortly after he plead guilty in court. The man requested to meet the boy, who he later found out was just 14 and had been coerced into the crime by someone else.
After their meeting, he shook the boy’s hand (who later wrote an apology letter to his mother, who was happy that she had ‘been heard’). So it’s likely he will never reoffend again, which makes it safer for everyone else.
Common Misconceptions about Soft on Crime
The Prison Reform Trust says prison reform is not being ‘soft on criminals’. It means using people’s time inside to do something useful (so they are safer people when released). It also makes prisons safer for prison officers who work there.
Critics often suggest that reform leads to higher crime rates, but evidence indicates the opposite. Countries embracing reform have reported a decline in crime rates, as offenders are less likely to reoffend after receiving proper rehabilitation.
Reform initiatives can enhance public safety by creating an environment where former offenders contribute positively to their communities. This shift reduces the potential for repeat wrongdoing, promoting a safer society for all.
Successful Examples of Prison Reform
Norway exemplifies a reformed prison system with its focus on dignity and respect for inmates. With recidivism rates below 20%, the country showcases how humane treatment and rehabilitation can foster reintegration and community safety.
In the U.S., various reforms are already showing promise. The First Step Act, for instance, emphasises rehabilitative programmes and reduced sentences for non-violent offenders. This approach has contributed to lower recidivism and offers hope for future improvements.
Creative Ideas to Reduce Re-Offending
Tap Social Beer (Oxford) is a social enterprise craft brewery, which makes beer to create jobs for people getting ready to leave prison. To date, the company has created over 75,000 hours of paid employment for prisoners on day release (or prison leavers). Most prisoners get around £76 for their journey home (often a tent), and half of prison leavers reoffend within a year, costing taxpayers around £6 billion each year.
50% of all employers won’t hire someone with a criminal record, and this means up to 70% of prisoners who leave with their £90 journey fare re-offend, and return to cells for up to 22 hours per day (costing the taxpayer around £42K per prisoner each year).
The range of beers include:
- Jobsworth (Session Pale Ale)
- Sundown (Pale Ale)
- Inside Out (oatmeal stout)
- Time Better Spent (Juicy IPA)
- False Economy (craft lager)
- Home and Dry (Hazy Pale Ale)
- Major Figures (lager)
You can enjoy fresh draught beer (and cans) at the company’s four community spaces in Oxfordshire. Or outside of this area, have the beers delivered to your home or business direct, with free local delivery on orders over £25 and free nationwide delivery for orders over £60.
A Prison Coffee Roastery
Redemption Roasters offers coffees hand-roasted by prisoners in Hertfordshire at HMP Mount (which used to have a lot of drug problems). This gives jobs and training, to help inmates find jobs on release. A portion of wages are set aside, to access on release.
NHS says to have 1 or less cups of coffee a day if pregnant (note chain stores usually serve coffee higher in caffeine. Use a sink protector mat to stop coffee grounds clogging drains. Latest research says that caffeine could harm harm compost bin creatures, so just bin the bags to naturally break down at landfill.
Training Prisoners in Horticulture
The Glasshouse is based in a women’s prison in Kent, which trains people in horticulture, to sell houseplants sold at their shop and website, plus offer corporate gifts for offices and retail. Of course, the added benefit is of being close to nature.
Always check at proper sites before purchase, that indoor plants are pet-safe. Many plants (including ferns, sago palm, Swiss cheese and all bulbs) are toxic to pets (even brushing a tail past can harm). Avoid facing indoor foliage to gardens, to help stop birds flying into windows.
Does the Death Penalty Deter Crime?
No. In US states where it is used (Texas), the murder rate is higher than states that don’t use it (like the northeast). It’s usually because most crimes are committed by people who are on drugs or completely mad. We used to have the death penalty in England, which (judging by celebrity-obsessions of recent years) would likely mean hoards of people would attend public hangings if they could.
In fact, the last ‘public hangman’ (Albert Pierrepoint) later said that he didn’t think his job made any difference to deter crime. The son of a hangman, he even sometimes hanged the wrong person (in one miscarriage of justice, he hanged an innocent man with a mental age of 10, then when the guilty man was found, he hung him too).
He also before that, had controversially hanged a 19-year old man now believed to have been innocent. He also hanged Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in England. Then retired to set up a bed-and-breakfast? But he later said:
All the men and women whom I have faced at that final moment convince me that in what I have done, I have not prevented a single murder.
The book Death at Midnight is interesting. It’s written by a former executioner in the US. His argument was that those who support the death penalty are not the people pulling the noose. So while they go about their daily life after the execution, it’s people like him who are left having nightmares for the rest of their lives.
Effective prison reforms lead to a significant decrease in recidivism. For instance, studies show that programs aimed at education and vocational training can lower repeat offences by up to 43%. This statistic challenges the notion that stricter punishment is the only way forward.
