Whether the UK Prison Environment Is Conducive to Effective Rehabilitation - Case Study Example

AN ANALYSIS OF WHETHER THE UK PRISON ENVIRONMENT IS CONDUCIVE TO EFFECTIVE REHABILITATION An analysis of whether the UK prison environment is conducive to effective rehabilitation Introduction The primary intention for incarceration in the UK is to provide protection to the public by housing inmates in a humane and secure manner. Conversely, incarceration works towards rehabilitating prisoners and reducing their reoffending abilities. In the year 2011 the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, Kenneth Clarke, set out a plan for reducing the cycle of prisoners’ reoffending. One of the primary facets included in the reforms was the reduction of substance misuse and addiction in the prisons. Clarke stated that the major priorities to protecting the public and reducing crime included punishing offenders by subjecting them to suitable prison sentences (Jordan, 2012, p. 18). Conversely, the other priority would be to provide demanding rehabilitation programs. These initiatives were vital for representing the value for money for the taxpayers in the United Kingdom. In spite of the considerations, a number of factors exist to determine that the environment in UK prisons is not conducive for the effective rehabilitation of prisoners. Some of these factors are inclusive of overcrowding, which has led to a reduction in the operational capacity of the prisons. However, several initiatives could be put in place for the creation of a conducive atmosphere for rehabilitation. The implementation of these initiatives is essential for providing the prisoners with the assistance necessary for effective rehabilitation, which gives the prisoners a genuine purpose and meaning in their daily routine. Such a consideration is likely to assist in the reduction of several violent incidences that emanate from frustrated and bored prisoners, most of who express themselves through disaffection and violence. An analysis of the prison environment in the promotion of effective rehabilitation A possible argument regarding whether the environment in the UK prisons is conducive to rehabilitation is that the negative atmosphere and violence within the prison make it unsuitable for rehabilitation. This type of environment, together with the activities taking place within the prison, does not encourage prisoners to take responsibility for their personal behavior. When offenders make their way to prison, most of them might be holding numerous offenses, which is a factor that makes it difficult to treat an individual with an alcohol or drug abuse problem effectively. However, it would be easier to rehabilitate such individuals if they were given firm sentences with fixed lengths rather than allowing a specific period for parole (Justice Committee, 2015, p. 21). Overcrowding is a crucial concern for the prison system in the United Kingdom. The population in the prisons in Wales and England has reached the highest records in history (Jordan, 2012, p. 19). The population increase has led to the reduction of the usable operational capacity in the prisons, which partly led to the increment of riots across the UK prisons in August 2011 (Jordan, 2012, p. 19). For this reason, a significant number of people received subsequent sentences for looting and violence. In spite of this short period of social unrest, overcrowding represents a noteworthy issue for Her Majesty’s Prison Service (HMPS). It also contributes to the impediments to rehabilitation. According to the Prison Reform Trust (2011, p. 8), the current outcomes of imprisonment are unimpressive. A possible deliberation in the light of this situation is that the rhetoric of imprisonment, as well as the reality emanating from being caged often contrasts each other. For this reason, HMPS requires an alteration in order to provide rehabilitation institutions with the capability of achieving their aims. Even though it would be essential to provide these institutions with the mentioned capability, the provisions should be secure, humanitarian, organised, and civilised. However, it is considerably difficult to run prisons that are presumably escape proof, safe, and orderly. Consequently, it is difficult to provide programs necessary for changing offensive behaviour, thereby providing prospects of rehabilitation. The 2010 Green Paper from the Ministry of justice stipulates that the UK should prioritize the cycle of crime issues through the provision of an effective rehabilitation system. The prioritization is essential for reducing the possibility of reoffending. Despite this prioritization, the record spending as well as the high prison population did not provide a foolproof solution to the delivery of the most vital aims. These objectives were inclusive of the improvement of public safety through the implementation of more effective punishments that could lead to the reduction in prospective criminal offenses that occur repeatedly. The profile of the prison population in the UK is continually changing. Coupled with the fact that some of the prisoners in the various facilities are becoming older, the changing prisoner profiles in the different facilities are creating a significant number of challenges. The aspect that the prisons do not have different security categorizations for accommodating the security provisions for their prisoners creates a proportionate risk (Justice Committee, 2015, p. 21). As mentioned earlier, some of the prisoners engaging in violent activities or different forms of abuse to their fellow prison mates appear to be bored. For this reason, such individuals pose a risk to the safety and rehabilitation efforts implemented in the prisons. It would be prudent to construct prisons to standard specifications necessary for minimizing the need for rebuilding them. However, this provision might lead to prisoners being held in conditions or accommodations that are disproportionate to the risks they pose, which is a consideration that might not be conducive to rehabilitation. This approach informs the aspect of the over-securitisation of the prison facilities, which contributes to preventing the successful rehabilitation of the prisoners. UK prisons are unsuitable for rehabilitation due to the aspect of over-securitization. According to the ninth report of the session 2014-2015 by the justice committee, House of Commons, the application of unnecessary security proved to be costly. The report refers to Professor Yvonne Jewkes’ research to indicate that over-securitization could inhibit a prisoner’s access to the available rehabilitative activities and interventions (Justice Committee, 2015, p. 21). In a similar capacity, the failure to apply appropriate security measures was a risk since prisoners could escape, the consideration could also erode the confidence of the public, and the prisoners could harm others. These considerations comprise of some of the issues that face the UK prisons in the determination of whether they are likely to provide a suitable environment for rehabilitating prisoners. Professor Jewkes relies on a body of growing academic research to indicate that prison facilities influence the effectiveness of rehabilitating prisoners. The professor indicates that compared to larger prisons, small facilities work more effectively in the rehabilitation of prisoners. The professor further posits that the effectiveness is determined with the location of the facility, which means that those closer to the home communities of the prisoners rely on the principles of humanization and normality (Justice Committee, 2015, p. 19). These considerations can influence the rehabilitative capacity of the prisoners. However, more recent prison buildings focus more on the construction of large facilities, most of which are in isolated regions, away from the proximity of the different communities. Using such a provision to determine the conduciveness of the prison environment in influencing rehabilitation indicates that the facilities in the UK are unsuitable for supporting rehabilitation initiatives. Professor Jewkes, among other individuals, believe that the growing size of the prison establishments reduces the extent and the capability of the prison system in recognizing and catering for the diverse needs of the prison population (Justice Committee, 2015, p. 17). The obvious trend towards the provision of a less diverse prison system is influenced by some of the most recent governmental policies, which have included replacing young offender institutions. The reduction also affects the security training centres. Together with the closure of some of the small and specialised prison centres, the governmental policies are not conducive for effective rehabilitation. The other consideration relates to the aspect of prison visits. Several claims have been made in relation to the necessity for prisoners to stay in touch with the members of their families through prison visits. These claims adopt the humanitarian perspective, which is also an aspect that would influence the effective rehabilitation of prisoners. Rachael Dixey and James Woodall (2010, p. 43) indicate that one of the primary ingredients that influence successful rehabilitation relates to the view of visiting. Visiting holds dissimilar meanings to different parties, which is an indication that some people contest the role of visiting in the criminal justice system. According to Dixey and Woodall, prisoners derive knowledge that serves as an essential element for their rehabilitation from looking at the world from the perspective of other individuals outside the prison facility (Dixey & Woodall, 2010, p. 44). The current prison system does not encourage frequent visits, which hinders the effective rehabilitation and re-entry of the prisoners into the community. In the year 2008, Conservatives, through the green paper, “Prisons with a Purpose,” identified that the penal system in the UK was not effective in its delivery on several aspects. The system was failing to deliver on the aspect of rehabilitation, incapacitation, deterrence and punishment. They attributed the failure to the underperformance of the prison regimes, drug issues and the overcrowding within the prison facilities, which they termed as a crisis. The jails are highly overcrowded due to the re-offending rates that have significantly risen. However, some of the emergency measures from the government have seen the early release of a considerable number of violent offenders. Conversely, community sentences do not provide the public with enough confidence. For this reason, rehabilitation institutions find it difficult to implement their initiatives. It is possible for an individual to argue that the prison system in the United Kingdom is not working towards the implementation of effective rehabilitation. Constructing new prisons for the accommodation of every individual sentenced for committing various offences as well as reduce the overcrowding in the existing prisons is an essential consideration. However, the construction is not an end in itself. Since most crimes are committed by second-time offenders, the most appropriate way to reduce possibility of re-offending would include the reduction of the prison population, which will essentially reduce the crime rates in the region. Consequently, the construction of new and more spacious prisons will assist in the restoration of the confidence eroded by the existing criminal justice system, which is a provision that will launch the rehabilitation revolution in the UK prisons. The estate of the government’s modernization policy relates closing the old and inefficient prisons, thereby replacing them with new and cost effective facilities. This is an appropriate principle that assists in reorganizing the manner in which prisons operate, as well as how the other prisons continue to operate with the old buildings. The Justice Committee indicates that the replacement of the decrepit buildings will essentially remove all barriers that hinder rehabilitation since the redesign and the reconfiguration of the new constructions will incorporate the utilization of new technologies. The improvements will ensure that the added efficiencies will be embedded in the infrastructure. However, an unfortunate element in relation to such an investment is that the public sector prisons do not have adequate resources, which leaves most of the prisons overcrowded. This element is among some of the factors that hinder the effective rehabilitation of the prisoners. Conclusion As mentioned in the previous sections, several factors that hinder the effective implementation of rehabilitation initiatives in the UK prisons are inclusive of, but not limited to, the aspect of overcrowding in the UK prisons. Overcrowding hinders rehabilitation since each individual will not have the adequate attention needed to ensure that he or she is effectively rehabilitated and reinstated back to the society as a responsible individual. Conversely, overcrowding in the prison facilities hinder the effective monitoring of the inmates. The other aspect to reflect on is the infrastructure available in the public prisons in the United Kingdom. Old facilities hinder rehabilitation since they do not have the appropriate designs that could support the introduction of technological applications that would assist in the implementation of these activities. An individual could argue that the relationship between the effectiveness and the size of the prison institutions do not appear to address rehabilitation efforts. Consequently, the UK prison environment seems not to be conducive for effective rehabilitation. References Dixey, R. & Woodall, J. (2010). The significance of ‘the visit’ in an English category-B prison: Views from prisoners, prisoners’ families and prison staff. Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Centre for Health Promotion Research, Leeds Metropolitan University, Queen Square House, Leeds. Grimwood, G. G. & Berman, G. (2012). Reducing re-offending: The “what works” debate. House of Commons Library. Jordan, M. (2012). Prison mental health: Context is crucial. University of Nottingham Justice Committee. (2015). Prisons: Planning and policies. The House of Commons. London: The Stationery Office Limited. Prison Reform Trust (2011) Bromley briefings prison factfile, London: Prison Reform Trust. Read More