Prisons

SHOULD prisoners have the right to vote?

The question raises an interesting debate about the meaning of justice, the purpose of imprisonment, and what kind of democracy we want. But while prisoners are being raped, such interesting debates can wait.

The Otago Daily Times reported the case of a prisoner being seriously sexually abused in his cell (9.7.20) by an offender with a history of sexual violation.

The practice of ‘‘doubling up’’ was brought in by the last government, or was it the one before? It was a grossly irresponsible reaction to growing numbers of serious offenders crowding out prisons.

That decision was thoughtless. If necessary, prisoners can live in exercise yards in containers divided into cells stacked two and three high. Yes, we would then argue about reducing the amount of recreational yard space and many other things, but nothing comes within cooee of abandoning vulnerable young men to monstrously violent sex offenders.

And why have we got so many bad men (and growing numbers of women) in New Zealand that we need to keep building more prisons? The answer to that question has been known for decades. It’s because we have a shamefully high number of bad parents who neglect, abuse, psychologically damage, and even murder their children.

To fix the problem we need pairs of social workers or community workers to spend at least 60 hours a week in the homes of parents at risk of damaging their children. We need a blitz, thousands of teams.

We don’t need university graduates for this work, but rather a threemonth course for adults with common sense, concern for children and sensitivity.

In short, we have the answer. What we need now is commitment and urgency.

Christopher Horan

Lake Hawea

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