One hundred babies locked up in prison

ONE hundred babies were living in prisons last year, David Cameron will warn this week, as he makes a passionate plea for radical reforms to the justice system.

The Prime Minister will call for an urgent rethink of the “absolutely terrible” fate of infants who are kept behind bars while their mothers are serving jail terms.

In a speech tomorrow, Mr Cameron will also announce that offenders will be tagged and tracked using satellite technology for the first time, under a pilot scheme that will begin later this year.

The technology could allow non-violent criminals, including new mothers, to be released with satellite tracking tags fitted, and could lead to an overhaul of the way community sentences are enforced.

Satellite tracking was originally intended to be rolled out across the country by the end of last year, but problems with the technology mean it may not be fully operational until 2020.

Mr Cameron’s speech marks his latest intervention in social reform as he seeks to reshape Britain to tackle inequality, poverty and discrimination before he leaves office.

It is also likely to be seen as an overture to Michael Gove, the Justice Secretary, who is considering whether to campaign against the

Prime Minister for Britain to leave the European Union in the forthcoming referendum.

Mr Cameron was said to have been dismayed by figures from the Ministry of Justice showing that 100 babies spent time in prison last year.

In his speech, Mr Cameron will say that prison staff try to make infants comfortable in jail but he will say it is time for a new approach.

“It is absolutely terrible to think that some babies are spending the earliest months – even years – of their lives behind bars,” he will say. “Prison staff do their best to make these environments pleasant. Some units even have special sensory rooms, so that babies can see colours, sights and sound – even nature – that they wouldn’t ever otherwise see inside the grey walls of a jail.

“There are actually women in these prisons who were born in the same prison 20 years earlier, and then have ended up there later as criminals themselves. Think of the damage done to the life chances of these children. It’s time to think seriously about whether this is the right approach. We’ve got to break this cycle.” Mr Cameron’s speech is the first by a prime minister on the subject of prisons for two decades. He promised to look at alternative ways to deal with inmates after they give birth.

Options could include the use of satellite tagging technology to ensure babies’ development is not compromised by their mothers’ actions. At present, when a pregnant woman gives birth while serving a custodial sentence, she is usually transferred to a prison’s “mother and baby unit”, which accommodates children up to 18 months old.

Under proposed reforms, the Government will consider whether alternative measures could be taken to deal with new mothers, including American-style “problem-solving courts”. These involve judges ordering offenders into treatment to tackle underlying causes of their criminal behaviour.

In some circumstances it will still be best for the baby and mother to be kept in a traditional prison, Number 10 said. Mr Cameron will say: “I want us to find alternative ways of dealing with women prisoners with babies.”

Alongside reforms for mothers and babies, the Prime Minister will also confirm that a major pilot of satellite tracking technology is to be launched later this year. This type of tagging could track the movement of nonviolent criminals, opening up new sentencing options, including changes to the way prisoners are released “on licence”.

‘Think of the damage done to the life chances of these children. We’ve got to break this cycle’