Extract from Wales Assembly debate on The Wales Governance Centre Report—Imprisonment in Wales—A Factfile - Oct 9
Wednesday, 10 October 2018 08:15
John Griffiths AM:...I think it's fair to say, Dirprwy Lywydd,
that if we look at UK Government's prisons policy, it's nothing
short of a horror story. Very many people who are in prison simply
shouldn't be there. Imprisonment isn't used as a last resort. Very
many people incarcerated have mental health problems. They have
drug and alcohol problems. They have very low skills. The effort to
help these people is not one that should be taking place in
prisons; they shouldn't be in prison in...Request free trial
AM:...I think it's
fair to say, Dirprwy Lywydd, that if we look at UK
Government's prisons policy, it's nothing short of a horror story.
Very many people who are in prison simply shouldn't be there.
Imprisonment isn't used as a last resort. Very many people
incarcerated have mental health problems. They have drug and
alcohol problems. They have very low skills. The effort to help
these people is not one that should be taking place in prisons;
they shouldn't be in prison in the first place. And, of course,
many of them have short sentences, which makes rehabilitation very
difficult, because they're not in prison long enough, really, for a
proper rehabilitative experience to take place. And if they only
receive those short sentences, again that raises the question: why
was there a need to imprison them at all? So, given the
understaffing that's also an issue, and the overcrowding, we know
that meaningful rehabilitation in prison is just not taking place
on the scale or to the degree that's necessary. And what's the
result of that? More reoffending, more victims of crime,
more Recidivism. You know, it really is a very
counterproductive and wrong-headed vicious circle that is
happening at the moment...
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