18 February 2005
The government's 'utopian dislike of prison' has resulted in a reliance on community punishments even though they are less effective, according to a centre-Right think-tank.
Civitas is calling for a substantial increase in the UK's prison capacity to accommodate the 100,000 prolific criminals that Prime Minister Tony Blair last year blamed for 50% of all crime.
The think-tank says that, at any given time, only one in five of these offenders is in prison and wants ministers to 'lock up the other 80,000'.
Such a move would double the country's prison population and cost £8.4bn.
It says that community punishments are not effective at reducing reoffending rates, citing the intensive supervision and surveillance programme as an example.
According to Civitas, 84% of participants were reconvicted within 12 months of starting the programme, and 53% did not complete it.
The think-tank published a report on February 18, called Crime and civil society, which highlights Home Office figures that estimate the average prisoner would commit 140 crimes if not incarcerated.
'Thus, for every 1,000 additional prison inmates we could prevent 140,000 crimes,' it says. 'Yet the government has a policy of not allowing the prison population to exceed 80,000.'
But Richard Garside, director of the Crime and Society Foundation based at King's College, London, said the 100,000 figure was 'merely a statistical abstraction'.
He added that, even if the figure were accepted, a prison expansion programme was a 'dubious' use of resources to tackle the problem.
'Civitas makes the assumption that the way you get people to change is to punish them,' Garside said. 'The evidence suggests that social investment in job creation schemes, better education, better housing, works best.'
For inmates, Civitas is advocating the extensive use of rehabilitation programmes that are known to work. The report says there is 'good evidence' that vocational training and basic skills education are effective in cutting reoffending rates, justifying a 'significant increase in investment'.
It wants to see 'therapeutic communities' within prisons to treat inmates' drug and alcohol addictions. These should be backed up by mandatory drug testing regimes and intensive aftercare upon release.
Civitas also wants a tougher approach to juvenile offenders, advocating 'borstal with a human touch' that would give inmates training in vocational skills.
PFfeb2005
