Why is there so much concern for the sate of our prisons?...?

Question

Prisons should be terrible places where no one in their right minds would want to end up. That would surely help to reduce all the crime in the country. What d'ya reckon?

Answer 1

Prisons should be terrible places where nobody wants to go but you better remember that most of the people who go in there get out at some point.
That is why you don't want to shamelessly brutalize them, and you want to provide them with the opportunity to correct and better themselves. That way maybe there is a chance they might get out and go straight, not be a worse criminal than they were when they went in.

Answer 2

There is alot of concern over the state of our prisons because here in the U.K some of them could now pass as four star hotels!!! I agree that we need to rehabilitate offenders so that they do not reoffend I just have problems seeing how providing an inmate with sateleite T.V, a playstation etc. in his cell does this. As far as I am concerned all this does is encourage further offences. I am right with you prison should be a terrible place and should be reserved only for the most serious offenders, not simply a university of crime for the petty crook.

I think at the end of the day we all need to open our minds to other forms of punishment for rehabilitation, I remember reading the Daily Express a good while back and seeing anarticle where an american judge was making the punishment fit the crime, I think the example was a couple of kids who had wrecked a nativity scene and he made them walk the streets with a donkey and a sign saying something like 'who's the jackass now'. I think this is the best way to reduce crime though not simply by running our prisons down.

Answer 3

The reformist methods here aren't working and in fact allowing prisoners in the UK to dominate the prisons in some situations.

Despite my humanitarian views, i do agree with you.

Some of the old Victorian prisons in UK and the US had the right idea: solitude, silence and the "Eye of God" for light.

If I were to become a murderer or commit any other crime, I wouldn't have the cheek to complain at any treatment. I'd just accept it.

I used to work as a custody officer in London. The worst thing that an ignorant, soft sytem does is give no reason for the prisoners to reform. London's criminals are some of the most violent in the world but they are ususally capable of all the good qualities if they get the chance to show them. You'll never behave in a decent way if you are constantly threatened by everybody around you and prisons are generally full of aggressive threatening people.

Prisoners should never come in to contact with other prisoners while inside. It causes a pack psychology to develop along with a deeper culture of criminality. Increased violence, bullying and drug dealing take over the lives of the small time villains. Cells should be soundproof. No pipes. No radio. No TV. No smoking. No physical contact with visitors. No gyms. 24 hour a day lockdown. No cell sharing. No bullying from the Officers in charge. The choice is polite, decent behaviour or solitary confinement.

I'm not talking about cruelty as being a good idea but totally fair, respectable authority is the way forward. You give the prisoners the chance to behave. As soon as they misbehave (violently or aggressively) they get restrained and put in solitary for a couple of days. Every time after that the solitary sentence is doubled when the prisoner kicks off.

If you've seen "the Green Mile", that's how a wing should be run (without the Percy method though!) and it can be done.

Truthfully speaking, A soft "liberal" prison is worse for prisoners than a harder regime.

Answer 4

Prisons are a terrible place and whoever told you they are not a full of crock! People are abused terribly in prisons. First of first I agree some people deserve to be there. However there are innocent people there too. Furthermore the prisons of America are becoming one of the biggest industries in the world. The prisons make every product wall mart or target sell. Heck bob barker is buying stock in them. Now who's to say your family member might end up there one day. Prisons are nothing nice 50 percent of people are raped,beat,killed and even more horrific tragedies happen on a daily basis. What would you think of spending 60 days in a cold wet dark cement cell with no cloths? Do you think maybe that's cruel enough?

Answer 5

I would agree that prisons need to be terrible places, but I do not believe that making prison more terrible would reduce the crime. I think establishing good moral values at an early age, especially in the school. Studies have shown that because prayer was abolished in schools bak in the 1960's, crime, rape, prison inmates have increased exponentially (almost 1000%).

Answer 6

World-wide there are two types of prisons, those for punishment and those for rehabilitation. Those countries that are devoted to rehabilitation have a much lower recidivism rate. We, in the U.S. are so schizophrenic that we can't make up our minds to either just punish or to actually rehabilitate so we do neither.

As to reducing crime, making prisons terrible places does NOT reduce crime, criminals don't think they are going to be caught.

Answer 7

The prison should not be a place were anyone wants too end up at all and if someone did, this does not mean that crime should be committed on them, the prisons have been criticised for outright bullying and inciting MURDER, putting low level ethnic minority prisoner in with racist psychopath, y arnt those prison guards in prison?????????????. do u really think every one in prison should be treated worse than battery hens, hopefully rehabilitation, and prevention are what we wont. and of course to make sure its the rite people in there!!!!!!!!!

Answer 8

Very true! But instead, they have the best workout machines, computer access, college degrees... Its thoroughly disgusting. They are criminals, and have it better than allot of hard working, honest people.. I think they should go back to bread & water, and then stay in their cells 24 hours a day.

Answer 9

not being funny or nothing but look in the USA etc you have death row there are still people killing every day that don't stop
if your gonna be a crim it wont matter the state of the prisons good or bad they will still have plenty of people to go in them
respect
shaz

Answer 10

I totally agree with you.
Prisons are there for people that have done some terrible things, yet they get more luxuries than most of us on the outside will ever get.

Good Q