Prison is too easy and isn't working

[MC Spyda]

 

At the moment its give them what they want to keep the peace, at the expense of tax payers. If the majority worked then it would be far easier to quash and dissent in prisons by those not wanting to participate in the work programs because they would be in a minority with the worker not wanting to loose what they had worked for.

Ask anyone that has ever been burgled what they think at the time and they will tell you that they feel cheated out of something they have grafted for, so give people in prisons some self worth and they won't want to loose it to kick off for those not willing to accept that you earn your privileges or live a basic sentence.

 

It must be different depending on what prison you go to then, because when I was in prison, you had to work otherwise you wouldn't receive the extra incentives. If you refused to work, then you were left on complete basics.

[Conrod]

According to this report from 2007 the average IQ of prisoners in the UK was 87 and there were over 6,000 with an IQ below 70. To me, it would make far more sense to educate our prison population in order that they may be able to find gainful employment on their release. Locking them up for 24 hours a day and feeding them cold gruel would simply ensure that on release they would be re-offending in a short time.

There's not a lot you can do to educate people with IQs below 70 - far better just to keep them locked away from the public where they have only each other to harm.

[Frank Sidney]

Where does it say that?

 

Your whole argument is based on the massive but common misunderstanding that prison is FOR punishment.

 

Prison IS punishment.

 

That's true. Criminals are not sent to prison to be punished while there. Being sent to prison in the first place is the punishment.

[kimba]

Guff. I would be terrified of going to prison regardless of what it was like. Its the horror of being separated from my loved ones and losing control of every aspect of my daily life that makes it a horrendous prospect. That would never ever be "easy" as you glibly claim.

 

Making conditions worse would have absolutely no purpose whatsoever execpt to make prisoners harder to manage.

 

Prisons should offer prisoners the chance to educate or train themselves to give some an opportunity to break out of the crime cycle that many find themselves in. Treating them as you suggest would just turn out people angry with the system and with no prospect of getting into work or other meaningful occupation....and who would be more likely to re-offend.

Alas most of the people in prison do not share your traits and are a selfish bunch who are willing to sacrifice being with loved ones. if they were not then they would not take from others and run the risk of loosing liberty to start with.

 

Why would prisoners be harder to manage if you offered some self worth and something to loose if they did not tow the line ?

I reckon prisoners knowing they will have access to comforts regardless gives them less to worry about and more chance of them being harder to manage if they chose to have issues with the system. Most issues with the system is because they feel frustrated with having nothing to do and little structure in their lives, everyone I ever met in the 4 Doncaster prisons (bar some in Lindholme) said it was too easy, which I took to mean they needed some sort of discipline and order to their sentence. i certainly thought it was a doddle in Doncaster prisons, maybe Im wrong and it was just me ?

[Conrod]

Time to introduce Sheriff Joe Arpaio to the thread:

 

He's the man to set policy for running our prisons: tent accommodation, no porn, no coffee, only tv and radio channels the jail chooses, chain gangs, drab food, that's how it should be.

[Frank Sidney]

i think the current prison system is far too easy for the criminals it houses. they can eat hot meals, get a hot shower and even have luxuries, all for being a criminal! it should be bread, rice and water for the lazy, a cold shower once a week and total lock down. the ones that earn their keep can work, and i mean WORK HARD for the luxury of having a hot meal/ hot shower, just like the rest of society does. they then should choose to work even harder (just like me and you) to have the luxury of a TV or radio. make prison a horrible horrible place rather than the hotel it is now. you dont work , you dont eat. Simple really. earn your keep. make it a place you really dont want to be as well as the same time the prisoners would be contributing through hard work to the cost of housing them cutting £££££ off the bill that the tax payers pay.

 

I'd be interested to know how many prisons you've been to?

 

In my experience a large number of the inmates are either mentally ill or have some kind of addiction problem. Prison does nothing to stop the cycling of offending.

 

I'd agree that at least it keeps these people away from the public and protects the society, but prison doesn't work.

 

I would also agree that making prisoners work would be beneficial to both them and the general public, if they provided some kind of public service. Unfortunately, setting such a scheme up would be very expensive and it would be a while before any benefits / profits are seen.

 

Its very frustrating when we, as a society, suffer crime but none of the points you raise will reduce crime, which is supposed to be the aim of prison.

[Tony]

They are never going to change.

Really? Is that because your wish has already been granted in many of our prisons?

 

I do not understand why when in jail they cannot be locked up 23 hours a day. One hour a day exercise, one book per week to read. Three simple meals a day, served in the cell.

 

Noway would that cost £3000 a week!

 

It's cause and effect dear friend. If you treat people like animals and exclude them from normal morals and they will reward your imagination handsomely. Treat them like humans and they will repay you equally.

[kimba]

It must be different depending on what prison you go to then, because when I was in prison, you had to work otherwise you wouldn't receive the extra incentives. If you refused to work, then you were left on complete basics.

Yes you could do work in prison, but the work was few and far between, with only a few prized higher paid jobs, and they were the only incentive to try and better yourself. Most of the jobs were maintenance of the prison and so did not bring any real revenue as the money would have come out of the prison upkeep money anyhow, Im talking of prisons being able to drag in revenue for work done and passed on direct to prisoners. Other than that there was still basic living which was not much worse off, if you sat on your arse you still got a basic pay and got money for doing things like education which i would argue should be a privilege and earned.

 

Basic education like reading and writing should be mandatory though, and the first thing done on arrival before being even allowed to move up the ladder into work. Prisons should mirror society if your ever going to try and get prisoners integrated back into it.

[Quinnwok]

Really? Is that because your wish has already been granted in many of our prisons?

 

 

 

It's cause and effect dear friend. If you treat people like animals and exclude them from normal morals and they will reward your imagination handsomely. Treat them like humans and they will repay you equally.

 

Thats the problem with liberals, they think they can buy/bribe the criminal to act with humanity. The truth is the criminal is laughing at the system, the system that rewards them for there criminality. The decent law abiding rest pay for the criminal and there liberal life supporters.

[Conrod]

It's cause and effect dear friend. If you treat people like animals and exclude them from normal morals and they will reward your imagination handsomely. Treat them like humans and they will repay you equally.

Do you really believe that hardened career criminals will respond to soft treatment by changing their life habits?

Even if you can temporarily sway them while in prison and under education, they will regress as soon as they return to their sink estates and go back to mixing with other low-lives.