Prison? It’s fantastic experience on the pathway to citizen recovery for those in custody as result of their life journey
...The words of an achingly PC social worker? No, that’s the chief executive of Scotland’s jails!
PRISONERS are being offered a ‘fantastic experience’, according to the boss of Scotland’s jails.
In an extraordinary address, Colin McConnell insisted he is in the business of ‘citizen recovery’ as he lauded the work being done to assist criminals on their ‘pathway to desistance’.
But critics yesterday said some of the language could leave the prison system open to ‘abuse’.
The comments – now published online – came when the Scottish Prison Service chief executive addressed an ‘employer partnership’ event at HMP Low Moss, near Glasgow, last month.
Instead of firmly apportioning blame to offenders, Mr McConnell talked about supporting ‘those for whom custody has been a consequence of their life journey’.
And he said that workbased opportunities in the jail were ‘creating a fantastic experience for prisoners, building on their assets and developing strong employability characteristics’.
However, Taxpayer Scotland director Eben Wilson raised concerns that such phrases could encourage offenders to take advantage of the system. He said: ‘We pay a lot for this protection. ‘If the prison service becomes labelled as a fantastic experience, criminals will abuse that; given an inch, they will take a full yard.’
The language used by Mr McConnell is a long way from the idea of jail as a place for punishment.
It continues a theme developed in previous speeches during which he has tried to re-position the prison service away from being a place for punishment and move it towards an environment more like a social work setting based on rehabilitation.
The prisons boss said he and his guests shared a common cause and told them: ‘We are in the “citizen recovery” business. I want SPS to be at the forefront in helping those who come into our care to identify and address the issues that have led to their offending.’
Mr McConnell’s remarks continued in a forgiving vein as he stated: ‘We need to replace resentment with acceptance and place emphasis on the rehabilitation of those who have committed offences through constructive integration and the acceptance of their own “redemption script”.
‘We must afford them the opportunity to be trusted to direct and control their own destinies.’