Prison only works if we make it

Prisons have now become perhaps the most acutely evident bit of UK state failure. Like so many problems, it had been looming and worsening through the years of Tory rule – indeed, I think there is some credence to the idea that it was a major driver of the timing of the election. It was the riots, however, that kicked it up the agenda, with a short-term surge overloading the circuits. This pushed the government into early releases and is now likely to be a dominant issue for this term of government.

It is hard to overstate the problems with prisons. They are overcrowded and riddled with drugs and violence. This makes them dangerous for inmates, who often harm each other or themselves. They are also hazardous for prison officers, a fairly thankless task that has seen conditions and pay eroded through austerity. This has pushed into retention and recruitment, meaning poorer staff are more susceptible to gross errors. At the same time, the public trust is eroded through incidents of serial offenders undeterred by soft sentencing.