Prisons

I am no fan of the prison system. I believe its primary aims are to punish criminals and segregate them from mainstream society in order to protect the majority. The effect of this is to create social environments formed entirely of those who are also criminals. This effect is hardening and only makes it more difficult to integrate with society upon release.

Often this social alienation can be one of the precipitating factors in crime to begin with, so acts that blatantly exacerbate this seem very short-sighted. Re-offending rates are high with a tendency for crimes to increase in severity. The effect also spreads - children with family members who've been in prison are multiple times more likely to commit crimes themselves.

I am much more in favour of programmes that target those at risk of committing crime and preventing them ever entering the prison system. The earlier the better. That essentially means tackling poverty, improving welfare and revolutionising the education system. These are expensive measures - ones which few are truly willing to pay for.

The sad truth is that most can escape crime more easily by economic means and thus are presented with a far cheaper option than paying ludicrous amounts of tax - they can simply move to a safer area.

Those who suffer as a result are those already being failed by the state. Poverty is the source for both the criminals and the greatest victims of crime.

There are possible alternatives to prisons in the form of restorative justice, however the argument is hardly won in the political arena. Many doubt the efficacy of such schemes. Whilst the jury may be still be out (no pun intended) I reserve my right to hate prisons regardless.