Time to do different

Ever get the feeling we’ve been here before? Me too.

On Friday July 12, the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, during a visit to HMP Five Wells, announced Labour’s plans to deal with the much-publicised prison crisis. Currently in place, brought in by the Conservatives in October 2023, is the early release scheme, which she has said will end. According to her proposal, from September 2024, certain people in prison in England and Wales will be eligible for release after serving 40% of their sentence, as opposed to the current requirement of 50%.

The first time I was sentenced to a custodial sentence, in 1985, the prison population at the end of that year stood at 44,400. The last time I was released from prison, in June 2017, the prison population was just over 86,000. Guidance from the Sentencing Council, who were established in April 2010, states: “Imprisonment is the most severe sentence available to the courts. Custodial sentences are reserved for the most serious offences and are imposed when the offence committed is “so serious that neither a fine alone nor a community sentence can be justified for the offence.”

As of July 5, 2024, there were 87,453 people in prison. 83,796 in the male estate and 3,657 in the female estate. Of the 87,453 currently in prison, over 16,000 people are on remand, and yet, policy in The Bail Act 1976 established a presumption for granting bail rather than remand people awaiting trial, except in cases involving charges of murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, rape, or attempted rape.

Overcrowded and Chaotic Prison Estate

Rather than serving as a last resort, prisons are too frequently used for remand, punishment, and, tragically, as a supposed place of safety. Custody sergeants, magistrates, and judges default to this option, resulting in an overcrowded and chaotic prison estate. However, the crisis within the criminal justice system extends beyond this, therefore, any solutions to this current crisis must consider the whole of the justice system. From arrest to release and everything in between. Or in my experience, the school to prison pipeline, and everything within.

After being caught up in the revolving doors of crisis and crime for most of my life what made the difference? Why am I now living, and enjoying, a life free of crime? Well, in November 2019, at the home of the Open University, I gave a TEDx Talk with the title, ‘Education makes the impossible, possible.’ For 40 years I was surviving life, lurching from one crisis to another, and from one prison to another, then in 2010, along with several personality disorders, I was diagnosed with ADHD. Being diagnosed provided me with the reasons as to why I was the way I was.

57% of adults in prison have literacy skills lower than an 11-year-old

Attempting to build complex flat-packed furniture, without having the instructions written in plain English to hand, is a task I would not wish on my worst enemy. You know what it is supposed to look like, but without the instructions, and unless you are an expert, it is a nightmare. The story of my life is far from unique in prison. Over half of the prison population were excluded from school and half of the adults in prison are neurodivergent (over 80 per cent in the youth estate). Also, the ability to read is a fundamental skill—one that significantly shapes a person’s life. In prison, this impact becomes even more pronounced, and according to the Ministry of Justice, 57 per cent of adults in prison have literacy skills lower than an 11-year-old.

Whatever other decisions are taken by this government to sort out the mess in the criminal justice system, education in prison, academic and vocational, must be top of the list, along with assessing for mental health, and screening for neurodivergent conditions, but as someone who fell foul of the school-to-prison pipeline, assessing and screening should begin in the education system.

Education in prison made the impossible, possible in my life but as Aristotle once said, though he probably said it more than once, “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” In 2015, Dame Sally Coates said, “If education is the engine of social mobility, it is also the engine of prisoner rehabilitation.” However, education, rehabilitation take time, and money, and this government do not have much of either.

Keir Starmer’s recent appointment of James Timpson, now Lord Timpson, as the prisons, parole and probation minister reignited my hope for the future of our prisons, and the wider criminal justice system. A hope that was fading fast. James is the right person in the right job at the right time, however, where is the right place to start? Because to truly break the cycle of crisis and crime, he must address the systemic issues and implement evidence-based solutions. I do not envy the task James has in front of him. Both prisons and the Probation Service require a complete overhaul, emphasising long-term strategies.

Prevention is better than cure

The most effective approach to reduce prison populations and prevent reoffending is early prevention—stopping crime before it occurs. Prevention is better than cure. However, James faces urgency. Long-term plans take time, and the dire state of our prisons demands immediate decisions. We cannot wait for a collapse reminiscent of the April 1990 prison disturbances, notably the infamous HMP Strangeways (now HMP Manchester) riot.

Things getting worse, before they get even worse

Releasing people early to ease the pressure on prison and deal with overcrowding may, in the short-term, achieve the desired effect, but I can only see things getting worse before they get even worse. The Probation Service is already under pressure with the numbers of people being supervised and not having enough staff to provide the supervision. Release planning, through-the-gate support, and continuity of care are important for people being released from prison and I’m concerned service providers will lack the resources to deal with the sudden influx. The chances are we will see a steep rise in reoffending numbers, which will lead to an increase in the numbers of people in prison, or waiting until a space becomes available in prison.

So, what other solutions could be implemented to deal with the immediate problems being faced by James Timpson, and justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood? Well, as I mentioned earlier, the high numbers of people in prison who are being held on remand would be a good place to start, especially when almost 30 per cent of people on remand do not receive a custodial sentence.

People serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP), a sentence which was scrapped in 2012, should be resentenced, released, and their personal hells ended. 99 per cent of people serving an IPP, previously unreleased, are over the tariff set by the courts.

A controversial solution to free up much needed space is deportation, at the end of March 2024, there were 10,422 foreign nationals within the prison population.

Two-thirds of people in prison should not be there

In February 2024, during an interview on Channel 4, James Timpson said that two-thirds of people in prison should not be there. I wholeheartedly agree with James. However, the reality remains: whether justified or not, they find themselves behind bars. Reacting to long-term systemic issues with short-term policies risks exacerbating the prison population.

Let’s rewind to 1997 when Labour last took office—the prison capacity stood at just over 60,000. Fast forward to 2007, and Labour introduced an early release scheme to cope with the escalating prison numbers. The prison population in 2007 was a little under 80,000, and by 2027 the prison population is estimated to be between 95,100 and 114,200.

It is time to do different.

By David Breakspear, Prison reform campaigner