skills or educational levels can be extremely difficult. Merton (1938) developed his
‘StrainTheory’ by stating that crime results as one possible response when there is a
divergence between cultural goals and institutionalised means and described some
groups as having their opportunities blocked. They find themselves in a society with
aspirations of material wealth and the inability to obtain this wealth through
conventional means. (Wincupp & Griffiths 1999). With unemployment levels high
most employers would not consider someone with a criminal record. For some of the
men life was a pattern of prison then on release the homeless hostel. Eventually due to
drug dependency or a desire to have material wealth without the means to support it
(Strain Theory) they commit crime and arrive back in prison. Some become victims
themselves in society; homeless people are labelled as vagrants or tramps. Some
members of the public avoid them and label them as scruffy because they are wearing
clothes that are worn out or have been purchased from charity shops. Some question
their personal hygiene, these stigmas that are attached to homeless people together
with frustration can lead to criminal activity. Some offenders become so used to
prison life they cannot cope and re-adjust normally in society. Some people re-offend
due to the lack of skills they have, the average reading age in prisons are those similar
to that of a twelve or thirteen year old. For some the only way to survive is to commit
crime, they submit to their ‘Master Status’ which Becker described as a status where
all actions performed now or in the past will be viewed in the light of their label
‘Criminal’. (Tierney 1996).
Due to the lack of educational facilities in some prisons, a lot of the re-offending will
continue. Prisons may well be a deterrent in the fight against crime but it has been
suggested that prisons, harbour, brew and make criminals stronger and angered, thus
they become more of a danger to the public when released. (Internet 2).
There are many initiatives, which the government are introducing to combat crime,
like "tagging" instead of sending offenders to prison, which removes them from the
community. Some offenders are allowed to give back to the community; community
sentences are given for some minor offences. The home office plans for 30,000
offenders a year to serve a community sentence under curfews enforced by the tag.
This should be treated with encouragement and has been suggested will soften the
most hardened criminals, plus act as a controlled re-introduction to the community.
Almost 100,000 people live behind bars in Britain. They are locked up in our name,
yet we know remarkably little about the life they lead. Are we too hard on our
criminals or, as the tabloid headlines frequently suggest, too soft? And more
importantly: does prison ever work? (Internet 3)
In a sense society does feel reassured by the comforting knowledge that bad people go
to prison. But in reality, it is more worrying to send people to the current prison set
up, as prison is simply ‘an expensive way of making bad people worse.’ (Matthews
1997).
Statistically we cannot condemn the prisons entirely as twenty percent or more do not
re-offend after being released, but what about the other eighty percent? This
obviously needs to be addressed. This leaves a looming question, are prisons there
just to punish offenders for the crimes they have committed or to reform them?
Ideally prisons should reform, but currently, only a minority are, considering that
eighty percent of offenders re-offend within two years of being released.
There are a few procedures that take place when a prisoner first arrives at prison.
These are done to make sure the prisoner has everything they need and to highlight
any problems they may have such as a medical complaints. The first thing that
happens is that the prisoner's property is listed by an officer and put into safekeeping.
The prisoner can keep some of the items, the rest will be returned to them when they
leave prison. (Internet 4).
Once the prisoner has had a shower and been allocated their Prison Number, they are
seen by a member of the . It is important that every prisoner is
assessed so that they can be given the proper care that they need whilst they are in
prison. All the information is treated as confidential - just like going to a normal GP.
(Internet 4)
Shortly after arriving at prison, the prisoner will have an interview with a member of
the probation staff, or a '. A personal officer is a prison officer who
has been allocated to individual prisoners. The reception interview is another chance
for the prisoner to discuss any problems they may have. Prison staff are there to help
if there is anything the prisoner does not understand or if they need any advice or
support. To help prisoners settle into prison life, an induction session has been
developed to explain how the prison works and what each prisoner's responsibilities
are. It also helps prisoners to think about making the best use of their time in custody.
Of course, from time to time, prisoners may have worries or problems that they might
need to speak to someone about. Their personal officer or the officer in charge of their
wing or unit are there to talk problems through with prisoners. In addition prisoners
can talk to a prison 'buddy', chaplain or directly to the Samaritans. (Internet 4)
Lord Justice Woolf, the Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales said, “if the Prison
Service contains the prisoners in conditions which are inhumane or degrading, or
which are otherwise wholly inappropriate, then a punishment of imprisonment which
was justly imposed, will result in injustice.” In March 2000, Lord Justice Woolf urged
politicians to “stop playing the jail card”. (McLauglin et al 1996).
The former Conservative home secretary, and Chairman of the Prison Reform Trust,
Lord Hurd of Westwell, in an interview with the Guardian, warns of the corrosive
impact of overcrowding. He says, “It is time for inmates to be given the vote and for a
prime minister to visit a prison. If prisoners had the vote then MPs would take a good
deal more interest in conditions in prison, no serving prime minister has ever visited a
prison and discloses that a plan for Tony Blair to do so was shelved because of public
relations fears. It is one of our public services and prisons are important institutions.
Prisons are not a series of wastepaper baskets into which you can simply toss
somebody and not hear from them again.’’(Internet 4).
Prison can work, but not if the system is overloaded and under-resourced. If prison is
to work in society's best interest, it is imperative that only those that really need to be
locked up, are, and that all prisons work towards a positive regime where respect and
dignity for inmates is not compromised for misguided reasons. Prisons may have
there critics, but whatever the criticisms, the case is growing increasingly strong that
rehabilitation decreases recidivism more than any competing correctional practices,
including incapacitation. (Matthews and Francis1996 cited Cohen et al 1983)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Eugene McLaughlin and John Muncie (eds) (1996) Controlling Crime, 2nd ed, London, Sage Publcations Ltd
John Tierney (1996) Criminology Theory and Context, Essex, Pearson Education Ltd.
Matthews Roger and Francis Peter (eds) (1996) Prisons 2000,Hampshire, Mcmillan Press Ltd
Wincupp & Griffiths (1999) – Crime, Deviance and Social Control, Oxon, Hodder and Stoughton.
Internet Resources
Internet 1
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Internet 2
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Internet 3
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Internet 4
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Internet 5
http://www.nacro.org.uk/about/resettlingprisoners.htm
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