Its a pretty bad situation for all involved. With prisons over capacity, structured rehabilitation just cant be sustained. Prisoners cant do courses, do work or anything of any value to aid in that rehabilitation. So that’s them beaten down, hardened for their release which would just lead to more reoffending.
A lot of remand prisoners don’t need to be in custody. Many Gardai will object to bail at the courts, even if it is the judge that ultimately decides the outcome. A new prison would be great but there is no staff to run the prisons we have, how can we hope to continue a rehabilitative approach if there is no one to structure it? Punitive approach’s would be a step backwards too, but at the end of the day, there is not enough Prison Officers and not enough Probation officers to manage the system, its falling apart and it puts everyone involved at risk. Its borderline a human rights issue at this stage
The reality seems to be that the only way a state can afford the late 20th century rehabilitative and imprisonment model is by lowering standards and having far fewer people imprisoned.
Around the idea of imprisonment is a whole panoply of “rights” which are in fact decisions by recent generations of what people should be entitled to. Like religion of old whose status it now claims but a human construct too and one that fits uncomfortably with the reality of life today. Around that a huge ecosystem of law and legal wage earners.
Radical rethink needed around reduced cost and value creating alternatives. Prison for the violent and the perverts. Otherwise new sanctions.
And crucially, how do we start to choke off the supply into the system.
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Here’s a madcap idea. Build another prison.
Its a pretty bad situation for all involved. With prisons over capacity, structured rehabilitation just cant be sustained. Prisoners cant do courses, do work or anything of any value to aid in that rehabilitation. So that’s them beaten down, hardened for their release which would just lead to more reoffending.
A lot of remand prisoners don’t need to be in custody. Many Gardai will object to bail at the courts, even if it is the judge that ultimately decides the outcome. A new prison would be great but there is no staff to run the prisons we have, how can we hope to continue a rehabilitative approach if there is no one to structure it? Punitive approach’s would be a step backwards too, but at the end of the day, there is not enough Prison Officers and not enough Probation officers to manage the system, its falling apart and it puts everyone involved at risk. Its borderline a human rights issue at this stage
The reality seems to be that the only way a state can afford the late 20th century rehabilitative and imprisonment model is by lowering standards and having far fewer people imprisoned.
Around the idea of imprisonment is a whole panoply of “rights” which are in fact decisions by recent generations of what people should be entitled to. Like religion of old whose status it now claims but a human construct too and one that fits uncomfortably with the reality of life today. Around that a huge ecosystem of law and legal wage earners.
Radical rethink needed around reduced cost and value creating alternatives. Prison for the violent and the perverts. Otherwise new sanctions.
And crucially, how do we start to choke off the supply into the system.