‘Prisons are not for punishment’

More pressure heaped on Truss as ministers define jails as places for ‘reform and rehabilitation’

PRISONS are no longer places for punishment, ministers have made clear, after the phrase was excluded from the first legal definition of a jail’s purpose.

A new Prisons and Courts Bill, proposed by Liz Truss, the Justice Secretary, tells prison governors they must protect the public, reform and rehabili- tate offenders, prepare prisoners for life outside and be safe and secure. But the legislation does not place any obligation on prisons to punish offenders, reigniting the row over so-called “holiday camp” jails.

Critics suggested Ms Truss had “gone soft on crime”, but the Ministry of Justice insisted the courts punished offenders by sending them to prison and that no further punishment was necessary once they were locked up.

Figures published by the Office for National Statistics show that last year violent crime rose in all but one of the police force areas in England and Wales. In some areas, violent crime, such as assaults, almost doubled over the 12 months. This week, the prisons inspector said that guards have “all but lost control” at a jail where inmates are allowed to wander around in their dressing gowns.

In recent months, jails have experienced some of the worst rioting in decades and pictures have emerged of inmates with drugs and alcohol in their cells and even frying steaks.

Prisoners are also entitled to have televisions and games consoles in their cells as a reward for good behaviour.

Paul Nuttall, the leader of Ukip, said the mission statement for prisons in the proposed new legislation “beggars belief ”, as punishing offenders was an “absolute bedrock” of the prison sys- tem. “By not specifically referencing punishment it could allow governors further to soften regimes in prisons so that they become more like holiday camps rather than serious corrective institutions,” he said.

Ms Truss is already under pressure from some Cabinet colleagues, who are calling for her to be stripped of her role as Lord Chancellor.

Philip Davies, a Conservative MP, said he would table an amendment to the Bill, which is due to be debated by MPs next week, that would insert the word “punishment” in the mission statement. “The purpose of prisons first and foremost should be punishment,” he said. “The Government should recognise that. All these liberal Lefties think that people having their freedom taken away is a punishment in itself. But to many people it is not.”

Ms Truss wants jails to teach inmates skills that will enable them to get jobs on release and so reduce reoffending.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: “What the Bill is about is making sure prisons are places of discipline, self-improvement and hard work.

“This includes getting offenders into training and jobs when they leave prison so crime and misery to society is reduced.”

VIOLENT crime rose in almost every corner of the country last year with some areas seeing the volume almost double in 12 months, The Daily Telegraph has found.

Out of the 43 police forces in England and Wales, all but one recorded significant increases in the number of serious incidents, with knife crime causing major concern.

Annual figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that violence across England and Wales went up by 22 per cent in the 12 months to September 2016.

But analysis of the figures force by force showed the full extent of the problem, with only one constabulary – Nottinghamshire – recording a reduction in violent offences.

The vast majority of police forces witnessed double-digit rises in violent crime, with Northumbria posting a 95 per cent increase year on year.

Of the other forces, Durham recorded a 73 per cent rise; West Yorkshire was up 48 per cent; Avon and Somerset 45 per cent; Dorset 39 per cent and Warwickshire 37 per cent.

Elsewhere, Humberside, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Wiltshire and Dyfed Powys all saw violence rise by more than a quarter year on year.

The figures appear to confirm warnings issued by senior officers in the Metropolitan Police earlier this week that violent crime is soaring and in danger of getting out of control.

Following years of steady decline, Scotland Yard has recorded a worrying spike in knife and gun crimes.

The Metropolitan Police said gun crime had risen by 42 per cent year on year with 2,544 recorded offences, while knife crime was up almost a quarter with more than 4,000 offences.

Police leaders have consistently warned the government that proposed cuts to force budgets threaten to undermine the fight against violent crime but the Government has insisted on driving through cost cutting reforms.

But despite the warnings, the government has suggested that rises in official police figures simply reflects improvements in the way forces now collect their data.

A Home Office spokesman said: “Police reform is working with the latest ONS figures showing crimes traditionally measured by the [British Crime] Survey have fallen by a third since 2010 to a record low, with over 370,000 fewer violent crimes a year.

“We know there is more to be done. We will continue to work with the police, retailers and voluntary groups to tackle knife crime and ensure support is available for victims of gang violence and exploitation.”