Should Justice Secretary Jack Straw press ahead with plans to build three massive “Titan” jails housing up to 2,500 inmates each?
An alliance of 34 criminal justice charities and associations have written an open letter to Straw urging him to scrap the plans, arguing they will do nothing to reduce crime or tackle “sky-high” reoffending rates.
Prisons Minster James Hanson says in a consultation document the supersized Titan prisons will “ensure that we can respond to the needs of different offenders whilst capturing the best of what we do and the economies of scale available to us.”
But Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers disagrees, describing Titans as “flying in the face of our and others’ evidence that smaller prisons work better than large ones.”
“They may be more efficient, but at the cost of being less effective” she says in her latest annual report.
Many jails today have as few as 200 places, while the largest — Wandsworth in London — has 1,500.
It’s not only special interest groups who are complaining.
The Conservatives also say smaller is better — both in schools and in jails — and note that the planned 60 acre size for the Titan prisons means that each would cover an area twice the size of Wembley Stadium.
Life peer Lord Carter, who came up with the idea of the Titan jails, told me in an interview last year they are designed to achieve supermarket efficiencies, saying they would be the equivalent of five 500-place prisons but with “shared services, like the gate and the catering.”
However, it appears the Titans won’t eradicate the problem of inmates doubling up in cells — the government’s own consultation document talks about achieving their 2,500 prisoner target by “planned overcrowding” from their basic 2,100 inmate capacity.
People often don’t care what happens to prisoners as long as they are locked up.
But should the government ignore the advice of the criminal justice charities who say the plans will “cement this country’s position as the prison capital of western Europe”?
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14 comments so far
Big might not be better but it is cheaper. Since we have been moving most other industries over to other countries why not do a deal with a country like india to house our prisoners out there. labour is so much cheaper we could house loads of prisoners for the price of one space in Britain
- Posted by rightwingthinkerThe present sytem just does not work and potential offenders are not deterred in any way.Punishment must be seen to be the result of anti-social or criminal activities and this cannot happen without prisons.Build big prisons or small prisons whichever is practical and quick but do it quickly. The public are frightened by the present situation and are looking to government for protection.
- Posted by Archie LuskAnything that can reduce the cost of prisons must be looked at, the majority of this nations citizens of law abiding individuals have to foot the bill for the criminals. Boo hoo for those who argue about visitation rights etc …prison is a punishment for crimes and considering the severity of crime required for someone to be imprisioned I think its long overdue that the balance of though and concern be with the victims not the criminal. For those who state that the offenders children are also victims , as a parent i make decisions that effect my children but I also have to accept the responsibilties of my decisions. Life is seldom easy but its easy to know what is right and what is wrong
- Posted by DavidPrisons work - turning amateurs into professionals!
- Posted by R HollisForgive me if i am wrong, but i have always regarded prisons as somewhere for criminals to be punished. We all know that in the last twenty years or so, they have become somewhat similar to above average B & Bs, but without the luxury of going out at night. As far as i am concerned seven or eight in a cell would be fine. A diet of bread and water would reduce costs, and to really wind up the PC brigade, the death penalty for terrorists, serial killers, and child molesters / sex offenders, would cut down the numbers entering prison in the first place. Anyway, in this current politically correct climate we live in, killers will be fined soon, terrorists will be asked to help in the community, but our jails will be full of people who have overfilled their bins, thrown apple cores out of vehicles, and confronted vandals breaking windows.
- Posted by B HunterI think it’s a great idea. True the titan jails might seem to be less efficient to begin with but I’m sure they will be a true assess to our country in the long run, that is if the wardens find them hard to manage in the starting point… I truly don’t see why we shouldn’t have titan jails. Currently I am scared to go out in the dark, I’m also too scared not to have the burglar alarm on. It’s gone so far that after last year that I got attacked by one of the prisoners that the government “let out” of the local prison, I now always carry some sort of protection when I leave the house even if it’s just to do a quick grocery shopping in the evening. This used to be such a safe country, now I don’t know who to trust anymore. I feel that the government has let me and my family down and that they owe us, and surely everyone else, these titan jails. I’m tired of being worried because the government prioritises the prisoners more than us, the people. Isn’t it Us that they should be protecting? Also, isn’t going to a prison meant to be a Punishment? So why are there complaints about the titan jails if they could make it better for all of us? If a kid does very wrong we smack their bottom, but if an adult kill someone we lock them into a room and give them every good living standard you could ask for. Therefore I don’t mind if the prisoner’s living standards were to be less, I think that they should feel that they truly are being punished.
- Posted by Marie CarpenterThere’s nothing more to say, B.Hunter has said it all.
- Posted by E.WilcoxNobody seems to have addressed the simple fact that apparently we currently do not have enough space for the amount of criminals we have, so surely yes bigger prisons are the answer. I have read stories about people being given softer sentences purely because there is “no room at the inn”. Bigger jails will mean that all criminals can be caged and for longer, and so now life sentences can mean life, not just a few years, depending on the severity of the murder for example.. murder is murder so the same sentences should apply. And who by the way has set up these 34 criminal justice charities anyway? Do they not think they should be charitable towards cancer research or something which actually effects innocent people. Criminals shouldn’t have charities, and prisons should be deterents against crime, not a soft touch.
- Posted by EveThe government should ignore the woolly thinkers and listen to what the voters want (perhaps given its current parlous position in the opinion polls it will actually do so).
The concept of the Titan jails is fine but as usual the government is limiting the potential of the jails by its inability to look beyond the next by-election.
The seeds of social breakdown and the crime which goes with it have been sown and even if a new government elected in 2010 reversed the policies which have caused the damage, the effects will take a minimum of 20 years to work through until a new generation of young people with civilised values is produced and the crime rate abates.
Meanwhile, since the government, courts and police are collectively unable or unwilling to control the rabble on the streets, the only way to protect decent people is by locking up offenders for longer periods to keep them out of trouble until they (literally) grow out of it. Doing so will require a lot more than 7500 extra prison spaces. 15000 is a more sensible figure.
The prisons could be built at no additional cost to taxpayers if the government simply re-ordered its priorities to protect its own citizens, instead of squandering resources on futile foreign wars.
- Posted by PeterHow about an emphasis on reform instead of punishment? The US has big prisons and they only create an environment for prison gangs. People go back to their old ways once they get out.
- Posted by BillyRegardless if its titan prisons or smaller prisons we need to remember that the MAJORITY of criminals do return to our society, so if we do not want the same-old same-old I told you so, its time we had someone with a backbone to make a stand and get something done.
We need to consider both the DEATH PENALTY for criminals that will never see the light of day having all appeals explored who have commited such henius crimes including terrorisim, serial killers, and child sex offenders etc.
BUT more importantly REHABLITATION
The importance of rehabilitation especially for young offenders cannot be emphasised enough as in many cases it is the last chance to save them.
Whilst the majority of staff is doing an excellent job it is clear to see that the numbers of re-offending is on the increase. Having seen the system and given the tools the officers have at hand to deal with inmates, it is no surprise. I appreciate the Victorian days are over and thankfully, but to see these youngsters spending countless hours in there carpeted cells with there colour televisions, game-boys, X-boxes and radios etc completely unproductive and in no way benefiting the youngsters themselves or there rehabilitation to society.
For the benefit of these young people we need to perhaps practice what we preach in relation to reforming them. By this I mean we should re-establish compulsory education, drill and the addressing of officers and staff as sir etc. We need to have back the SSS, the Short-Sharp-Shock system with the return of Detention centres and even consider what our friends across the water are doing and make Boot-Camps an option to the courts and every parent. Boot-Camp should be run by the government and not just available to the better-off.
It is a proven fact that these types of deterrents do in fact work and benefit the youngster themselves in giving then back some respect and dignity.
There is simply no discipline or deterrent at all. We don’t want to hear about children terrorising neighbourhoods, schools, etc and the law saying we cant do this or we can’t do that. We can and we better had sooner than later.
This is the last chance for a lot of these youngsters and we owe it to them and more importantly us to enable them to return to our society.I’m not so stupid to think that everything is in black and white and that we don’t having staffing and financial problems etc as I am sure we do. Not all answers require more money than what is spent on issues already. They require basic rules and common sense and a strong gutsy person to put them into action and make our country safe for everyone and great again.
“Nothing is easy, but doing nothing is even easier.”
- Posted by RonOne third of the prison population is foreigners. A simple solution to create more capacity is to operate a “one strike and you’re out” policy with foreign nationals. One offence and they get sent back home, regardless of where that is.
- Posted by ChadwickA “straw man” indeed.
Labour created the conditions in which criminals thrive and have no intention of changing them.
The Titan jails, if they are ever built, will be filled with old people who are unable to pay their council tax and ordinary citizens who refuse to pay spot fines imposed by the new Stasi for trumped up “offences”.
Roll on the election and get these awful people OUT.
- Posted by JasonI think that the titan jails could indeed be something to look more into. It says in the article, “…designed to achieve supermarket efficiencies, saying they would be the equivalent of five 500-place prisons but with “shared services, like the gate and the catering.”” Five 500-place prisons would seem to mean that each five sections would be able to have some sort of individuality. It doesn’t sound as if the prison would loose its efficiency to reform inmates into civilized citizens, it sounds more as if it will be five 500-space prisons, and all individually ruled in one place. The only things that were mentioned as shared services were the catering and the management of the gate. Surely some more services will also be joining the shared service, but it would hardly be everything.
I also don’t think that a 500-space prison will have a lack of efficiency. I have a child of my own and therefore I have looked much into which schools to send my kid to and read every Ofsted report for the schools in my surrounding area, and it’s been quite a few schools. According to Ofsteds reports it isn’t how large the schools are that will prove how good they are, but how they’re run by the people in charge of the schools. I’ve read reports for schools that have had 400-500 students attending and they have still had the best of reviews from Ofsted. Therefore I strongly oppose the claim that small schools, and small prisons, would be the best thing. 500-space prisons would work well if they are governed correctly.
I totally agree with Chadwick’s idea of “one strike and you’re out” policy. This is something that is used in Sweden and also in some other countries. I do not see why citizens should pay for other country’s criminals. If you do the crime you should also pay the price for it. Nowadays it doesn’t seem as if criminals have any respect for prisons, and maybe tougher labour in prisons and longer sentences truly is the answer too.
- Posted by Cay