Drugs in Prisons
A prison officer has been sentenced to two years in jail for conspiring to smuggle mobile phones and possibly drugs into Feltham Prison.
Read about it all here.
The report quotes a Prison Service report which says.
The unpalatable but inevitable conclusion is that corrupt staff constitutes a significant supply route for drugs into prisons.
As many people end up in prison because of a drug problem, surely we should have a major rethink about crime and punishment. Prison should rehabilitate and not be a place, where drugs are freely available.
The Anonymous Widower 
We need a complete rethink on prisons. Just incarcerating people does nothing to either get them fit for an honest life outside, nor to repay society. Just locking up criminals should be reserved for the highly dangerous. Maybe a scheme where they work to pay off their debt. Perhaps criminals should be fined according to their crime with work as the only method of paying back the debt. The harder/better they work, the quicker they are free. They could earn bonuses for producing more, or for working additional hours. From their earnings, they would of course have to pay for their keep. Those with no useable skills could go on trainign courses to develop skills to allow them to earn money, and those with limited skills could take courses to improve their skills and earn more to pay off their debt more quickly. Any breaking of rules during a sentence would add to the debt.
I am sure that this is only one of a numebr of schemes that could be thought up to provide criminals not only with control over their sentence, but also provide an honest way of life that they would want to continue when released. “Crime doesn’t pay, but working does” is the message to get across.
Comment by John | May 5, 2011 |
I also think there should be more emphasis on rehab – especially 12 step rehab for drug addicts, alcoholics etc. Because 12 step works for most people. To be honest, I think the government should fund more rehab places run along the lines of The Priory, and aslo secondary rehab places. It is expensive, but actually a good investment, and cheaper than just giving addicts methadone and keeping them on benefits
Comment by liz | May 5, 2011 |