Glyn Travis of the Prison Officers’ Association says British jails are so cushy that even seasoned escapers prefer to stay inside.
In comments widely reported on Friday (available to browse here), he lists a series of home comforts enjoyed by inmates reminiscent of Ronnie Barker’s reign at HMP Slade in “Porridge” – breakfast in bed, control over the staff, visits from prostitutes and so on.
Do you have any experience of the Prison Service on either side of the fence? Do you agree with Travis’ remarks?
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5 comments so far
Are British jails too soft?
I wouldnt know - Ive never been inside, honest guv.
- Posted by Tom MorganThis is a common right-wing refrain. Having your freedom taken away is very difficult, demoralising and humiliating. They may be able to watch tv, but they don’t have the freedom to do what they want, when they want like the rest of us. What does this man want? Shackles and whips? This is the 21st century.
- Posted by Jamestypical problems with goody goody human rights lot, nobody can do a thing nowadays without problems , build a prison to house the dangerous near a quarry let do hard labour instead of having holiday camp regimes, why does the gov not do something about it they are inside for doing wrong simple and i would give them food and water nothing else
- Posted by kevin earlI’ve never been inside so wouldn’t know whether prisons are “soft” or not, but I’ve got enough sense to know that there is something seriously wrong with the way they are being used.
Prison is supposed to be a punishment and a deterrent to further offending. Since a large number of former inmates are happy to re-offend and go back inside, it is patently obvious that the prisons are not serving their proper purpose and are largely ineffective for any practical purpose other than to serve as a temporary holding pens.
It is interesting to see that the prisons don’t even serve their often stated purpose of “protecting the public” from criminals. Many violent thugs receive a fixed penalty fine or when jailed are released from prison early under government instructions to free up space, but the authorities readily find space to hold people such as the hapless Shannon’s mother and partner, neither of whom are any sort of threat to the public or likely to abscond before being tried for their alleged crimes, or pensioners who don’t pay their council tax. People such as these are prisoners of a very sick political system and having them clog up the prisons while thugs walk free is a national disgrace.
- Posted by Mike TSend then to the colonies. It has turned out to be very productive.
- Posted by Martin D