Half a century ago we were involved with an organisation called Radical Alternatives to Prison. We are dismayed that now, in spite of the steady decline in the number of recorded crimes, the imprisonment rate has nearly doubled in this country since then (Rob Rinder criticises ‘madness’ of UK’s prison system, 30 July). This is contrary to the international tendency to reduce imprisonment. The Netherlands has reduced it by 44% in 10 years and one of the US states by 14% since 2018. Even Russia has nearly halved its prison population over 10 years. Here we recourse to prison by default, in spite of all the evidence pointing to imprisonment increasing – rather than reducing – an individual’s likelihood to reoffend, thereby the public’s vulnerability.
We now have a golden opportunity for a fresh approach with a new government. We are encouraged by its plan to reduce the sentence served from 50% to 40%, thereby reducing the overall prison population. This, however, is only crisis management, and long-term visionary solutions need to be embraced. With simple measures such as not imprisoning mothers, non-payers of taxes and fines, and non-violent protesters, and with the appropriate treatment for those with addiction and mental health issues, we could dramatically reduce the prison population, while at the same time we would continue to contain violent and sexual offenders.
Liz Middleton and Gail Coles
London
