Ministers are facing calls to show "political courage" and address the prison rehabilitation crisis, following polling that shows voters prefer rehabilitation over longer sentences.
A report by Community Union and Serco has called for prisoners to receive a legal entitlement to rehabilitation behind bars and for cuts to education funding to be reversed. It warns the current system is failing to turn criminals' lives around, resulting in many individuals cycling in and out of jail.
Polling reveals public support for rehabilitation
Polling seen by The Mirror shows 55% of adults want rehabilitation fixed, more than the 46% who think sentences should be longer, and 36% who think prison life should be harder. A poll of 1,999 adults by PF Global found 85% agree that a prison sentence should be both a punishment and a means of rehabilitation.
Gavin Miller, national secretary for justice and custodial at Community Union, said: "We have an antiquated system. The justice sector is so, so far behind the times."
"If you've got somebody who's been sentenced who genuinely wants to break the cycle, this would give them the leverage to say, 'You need to give me this. I don't want to be back here'."
Calls for radical reform
Miller said the Tories underinvested in the prison sector, delivering just 500 new prison places in 20 years. He stated: "Now, if we just build new prisons, we're going to fill those prisons. What we need to do is find a way to encourage rehabilitation, to encourage a way of breaking the cycle."
The report warns that years of overcrowding, staff shortages and rising violence have left many prisons struggling. It said rehabilitation is a postcode lottery, with huge variation between jails, stating: "The problem is not a lack of belief in the importance of rehabilitation, but a lack of capacity to deliver it."
It concludes: "Political leaders must find the political courage to talk about and make the big decisions required to reform our long-struggling prison system, break the cycle of crises and deliver a rehabilitation system that prisoners, prison staff and the wider public deserve and expect."
Additional findings and government response
Research by PF Global also found 71% of the public believe being a prison officer is more difficult than most public sector jobs, and 55% believe prison officers are not sufficiently valued by society.
The report calls on the government to explore a legal duty for minimum rehabilitative entitlements in each sentencing plan. It also says prison governors should have more freedom over recruitment and how their jails are run. It calls for teaching and learning hours to be restored and better data collection on how rehabilitation programmes are working. In January, the government admitted it expects education delivery hours in prisons to fall by 20-25% because of rising costs.
Olivia Walsham, Director at PF Global, said: "Our research underlines the jeopardy currently facing the prison system. It is operating at capacity, struggling to deliver the effective rehabilitation that the public expects and in doing so is perpetuating a cycle of offending that does nothing for prisoner outcomes nor public safety."
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "We inherited prisons on the brink of collapse but we're pulling every lever to restore order. We run a range of schemes to give prisoners the skills and experience they'll need after release, including finding a job."
The spokesperson added: "This report recognises good work at HMP Warren Hill and we're committed to sharing good practice across the estate. But we know there is more to do, which is why former Home Secretary Amber Rudd is leading an independent review to deliver safer prisons, cut reoffending, and keep the public safe."
