Clarke Says Prison is a Waste of Money
On Saturday this was the lead story on the front page of The Times. It was also in the Guardian.
He is so right!
I first met a prison governor at University in the 1960s and he said the same thing.
So why if this has been generally known for many years, do we still lock up so many people for long periods of time?
Is it just that politicians are so frightened of the tabloids and the vengeance tendency who read them?
Perhaps we should have a referendum on capital punishment, corporal punishment and a three-crimes-and-its-life law? All those who voted in favour would have a 90% rate of Income Tax to pay for the policies.
The Anonymous Widower 
Iwould be in favour of shorter initial sentences with compulsory 12 step meetings run by outsiders, not prison staff, keep them there til they get with the programme. It does actually work really well for some people, I have met people in meetings who are only a couple of days out of prison, have come into 12 step whilst inside. The3y do well, and generally dont go back to drinking, using, stealing etc
Comment by liz | April 18, 2011 |