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Making prison work : Comments
By Andrew Leigh, published 24/11/2009Why are prisons less a portal to a new life than a revolving door? Corrective services need to correct, not just punish.
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It amazes me that jails aren't used as educational pathways, that they are not set up so that prisoners have more education and/or skills when they come out than when they went in. Maybe this is putting too much faith in the redemptive power of education but even the most poorly educated prisoner can surely be given skills to improve their legitimate employment opportunities when they are released. How's this:
* prisoners should be given the option of doing their time, no parole, OR
* depending on their current educational or skill level, they are given the option of finishing a course equivalent to HALF of their sentence, then they are eligible for parole.
Even if a prisoner is completely illiterate, he/she is given the option of becoming literate, doing further study or gaining further trades-type skills, depending on the length of the original sentence.
If some guy is in for some horrific murder and gets, say, twenty years, then if he finishes ten years of study - yes, up to Ph. D. level - then he is up for parole.
Maybe most prisoners won't or can't (brain damage) take up the offer, but for those who can and do, maybe a special wing, or even an entire prison, could be designated and staffed appropriately.
I'm not much fazed by the annual cost of prisoners - the annual cost of having them on the streets is far higher: I had a mate on heroin who burgled two or three houses a day for a year - what do you think that might have cost the community, @ $ 10,000 a time ? And what would the annual cost of education amount to, if there is, let's say, a 50 % chance of reducing recidivism ? Peanuts.
Of course, it would take a change in the philosophy of penal systems, from punishment to possible future prevention, from revenge to possible reform. But in the cold light of cost-effectiveness, it might be worth trying. And if an ex-prisoner re-offends, no problem: longer sentences and/or more study.
Joe