Friday 23 February 2007

Prisons

Now I know I am a criminology student, and it's in title of this blog, so people are probably wondering why i haven't posted anything on crime and the like yet. WEll I haven't got round to it, although I'm probably going to put something up on the 'riots' of the early 1980'sa in the next week or so (time permitted). Instead I thought i'd leave you with a recent article I wrote for the Socialist.

Reid's prison disaster
HOME SECRETARY John Reid is under great pressure from the media and MPs after several well-publicised crises and humiliations about his department's work in law enforcement. He has also come under attack for reiterating the position that magistrates should only jail the most dangerous and persistent criminals. This is a bid to ease overcrowding in prisons in England and Wales, that are full to the point of bursting. IAIN DALTON looks behind the headlines.
IN NOVEMBER last year, the prison population exceeded 80,000 for the first time ever, increasing at a rate of 2.4% or 1,790 prisoners per year. Britain puts 143 out of every 100,000 people behind bars, now having Europe's largest prison population.
Some of the 139 prisons are overcrowded up to 130% of their capacity. Despite the government making police cells available to accommodate prisoners under Operation Safeguard, in some areas prisoners are accommodated in court cells. All this is whilst government figures tell us that crime is decreasing.
Labour looks set to copy the Tories' policies from the last time there was a prison overcrowding problem: build more prisons, and most likely private prisons. Reid is apparently securing treasury funding for an extra 8,000 prison places. The last overcrowding crisis in the early 1990s was the excuse for the Tories to introduce privatisation in this arena.
Britain now has the largest percentage of private prisons in the world (though the USA has the highest number of privatised prisons). But this 'solution' has been shown to fail. Not only has the prison population risen to take up that capacity, but private prisons are among the most overcrowded.
There has also been an attempt to extend early release, also introduced following previous prison crises. However, despite the keenness to increase the role of electronic tagging (privatised since inception), upwards from the 3,000 prisoners currently released early subject to tagging, it has seen resistance from the courts, and is less likely.
Labour have also been keen to bolster community punishments as an alternative to prison, however, Labour's legislation has increasingly made community punishment an addition to prison, rather than an alternative. The 2003 Criminal Justice Act allows judges to 'pick and mix' various penalties for offenders, leading to increases in both rather than a shift from prison to community.

Discontent

ACADEMIC CRIMINOLOGISTS are keen to point out that the judiciary is 'the crux of the crisis'. Indeed as 97% of all cases are tried at a magistrates' court, determining guilt and sentencing mostly lies in the hands of unelected middle- and upper-class individuals. Many prisoners are debtors or have been sentenced for minor crimes.
The judiciary tend to support heavy punishment, which can be seen in the increase in numbers sentenced to prison and sentence lengths, especially the new indeterminate public protection sentence for current offenders introduced in 2005, which has been imposed on 1,890 prisoners, and is set to increase to over 12,000 in the next five years.
Institutionalised racism is also present. There are disproportionate numbers of ethnic minority prisoners, with disproportionately long sentences. Many from a similar class background to judges get much lower sentences (or are completely let off). However, it is not just the judiciary that are the problem.
Whilst there is not the discontent within prisons of the early 1990s (which saw rioting) conditions are continually worsening as a result of overcrowding and are far from the 'luxury accommodation' right-wing commentators criticise. Up to three prisoners can be accommodated within a single small cell.
Many prisoners get no access to decent education or training facilities, with resulting high illiteracy and innumeracy. Additionally, the increase in prison population has made prisons more understaffed than ever.
Many prisoners are locked in their cells for most of the day, which as POA (prison officers' union) leader Brian Caton pointed out in a recent interview for the socialist means that any supposed rehabilitation cannot occur. The morale and working conditions of staff are deteriorating.
With roughly 60% of prisoners re-offending, how does the prison system actually stop crime? Although New Labour say they have been tough on crime, they have not made the situation any better, and have probably made it worse, for the general public, prisoners and the staff inside the prisons.

Long-term solution

CAPITALIST POLITICIANS from the main parties have repeatedly shown they have no long-term solution to crime apart from locking increasing numbers of people up for ever-longer periods of time, which just the makes the problem of overcrowding even worse. Only socialists have a real solution to this crisis.
A socialist programme to give jobs and training for all on a living wage, with housing and other essentials of life under public ownership and control would be necessary to begin to overcome the present levels of crime.
A socialist programme would call for steps such as releasing all debtors and those in prison for trivial crimes immediately. This would instantly reduce prison overcrowding, and improve conditions for prison staff. Other cases should be reviewed by democratically elected bodies.
Socialists must also campaign for the right to trial by jury in all cases and a democratically elected judiciary earning no more than the average wage of a worker and subject to recall at any time. Privately owned prisons should be returned to the public sector.

5 comments:

The Sentinel said...

Or, considering there are five times more black youngsters in prison then white youngsters, we could stop any more blacks from coming into our country.

That would keep the crime rate and the prison population down in one quick action.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/tx/black_crime.shtml

Leftwing Criminologist said...

or perhaps seeing as there are 15 times more males in prisons than females we should expell all males from the country. I'm sorry, this is a daft arguement to have really. I'd argue that young people generally are more likely to get arrested with blacks facing more severe punishement. Contrastingly people from an asian background have are less likely to be in prison.

anyway, it looks like the government is going for building more prisons

http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/resourcecentre/pressreleases/index.asp?id=6342,230,608,242,0,0

they also mention they want to transfer prisoners without consent, although they say this means they can transfer foreign nationals to other countries in the EU, it also means they can transfer other people without permission.

The Sentinel said...

Not really a 'daft argument' at all. Have a look at this:

http://truthatsentinel.blogspot.com/2007/02/for-allah-commands-it.html#links

to learn how at least two thirds of the rapes in Norway and Denmark (and Sweden) are committed by non-white immigrants (primarily Muslims).

Have a look at the evidence and then tell me that the deportation of these people would not dramatically reduce crime.

And that it would be the only tangible benefit from this suicidal immigration.

Leftwing Criminologist said...

It's wrong to assume all asians are muslims for a start, and all immigrants too (i'm referring to the comments from the koran in the article). Secondly, the bible has some fairly dodgy passages too (although I can't be bothered to find them). I'm an atheist anyway, so I think religion is a waste of space anyway, particularly when they try to justify horendous crimes.
I tend to stray away from the whole deportation arguement, becuase to me it's just as bad as someone commiting a crime here and commiting a crime elsewhere. I know some people may disagree with me on that, but it's just crime displacement to me on an international scale and doesn't do anything to solve the problem. So I don't think deportation is an answer.
By the way I am not excusing these crimes, the person you quote as saying that women are partially to blame is completely wrong.
I am skeptical of your sources however, i would prefer to see the original research itself, newspapers tend to sensationalise things, and even then police statistics are wildly inaccurate representations of crime rates, in Britain we have a victim survey which shows four times the amount of crime the police record.

The Sentinel said...

"It's wrong to assume all asians are muslims for a start, and all immigrants too (i'm referring to the comments from the koran in the article)"

I am not sure what you are getting at here.

The evidence clearly states states that non- whites are responsible for at least two thirds of the rapes; Norway has only gone so far as to to say non- white whereas Denmark has named them as Muslims. It is no coincidence, and IC an assure you that the perpetrators are Norway are largely Muslim too; and Sweden come to that.



"Secondly, the bible has some fairly dodgy passages too (although I can't be bothered to find them"

Here's a few choice ones for you then:

On homosexuals:

Leviticus 18:22:

"'Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable."

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=leviticus%2018:22;&version=31;


Leviticus 20:13:

"'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=leviticus%2020:13;&version=31;

On the disabled worshipping God:

Leviticus 21:16-23

"The LORD said to Moses, 17 "Say to Aaron: 'For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect may come near to offer the food of his God. 18 No man who has any defect may come near: no man who is blind or lame, disfigured or deformed; 19 no man with a crippled foot or hand, 20 or who is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles. 21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect is to come near to present the offerings made to the LORD by fire. He has a defect; he must not come near to offer the food of his God. 22 He may eat the most holy food of his God, as well as the holy food; 23 yet because of his defect, he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, and so desecrate my sanctuary. I am the LORD, who makes them holy."

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus%2021:16-23;&version=31;

From Jesus- "the all forgiving, all loving, peace advocate":

Matthew 10:34-36

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn
" 'a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law -
a man's enemies will be the members of his own household."

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2010:34-36;&version=31;


"I'm an atheist anyway, so I think religion is a waste of space anyway"

I fully agree


"...particularly when they try to justify horendous crimes."

Like Islam and rape.


"I tend to stray away from the whole deportation arguement, becuase to me it's just as bad as someone commiting a crime here and commiting a crime elsewhere."

To be perfectly frank, I doubt you would be saying that if it was your mother, wife or sister that had been gang raped by immigrants.


"but it's just crime displacement to me on an international scale and doesn't do anything to solve the problem."

The problem it would solve in Scandavbia is the huge reduction in brutal rapes (and other violent crime.)

Why on earth do you think anyone should put up with grossly criminal, violent and sexually
depraved behaviour from citizens from another country?


"I am skeptical of your sources however"

I was waiting for that old chestnut.


"and even then police statistics are wildly inaccurate representations of crime rates, in Britain we have a victim survey which shows four times the amount of crime the police record."

I haven't looked into that but we are talking about Scandinavia here in any case.

Given that the Nordic bloc are now importing more Third World immigrants then ever before, despite the crime, what possible motive could the police or media have to make this up?

(Besides anything else, I have seen this immense problem of sexual harassment from Muslims and non whites of the Scandinavian girls- the precursor to rape- with my own eyes)