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