2. AIMS OF
PUNISHMENT
• Retributivism: offender is an autonomous individual
who should be treated with respect of Punishment is in
deprivation of liberty, not ill-treatment
• Utilitarianism: positive aspects of prison can improve
rehabilitative function
• Rehabilitation: prisoners' rights must be respected
3. PURPOSES
OF
IMPRISON
MENT
• Jack Straw (SSJ in 2008): "Prisons are, as they should be, first and
foremost places of punishment, primarily through the deprivation of
liberty but also through a regime behind bars which is tough and fair" o
But also recognised that they must allow for "reformed behaviour and
rehabilitation"
• Prison Service Statement of Purpose (1988) o Serves the public "by
keeping in custody those committed by the courts" o Duty is to "look
after them with humanity and help them to lead a law abiding life in
prison and on release"Woolf Report: need to strike a balance between
security, control and justice o Justice is often displaced by a focus on
control and security 'Decency' agenda (1999) o "caring for and treating
with respect everybody in the Service's care"
• National Offender Management Service (NOMS) o Prison Service
became part of NOMS in 2004 after the Carter Review o NOMS became
part of the MoJ in 2007 o NOMS
• Statement of Purpose: "commission and provide offender management
services … ensuring best value for money"
Aim to protect the public and reduce reoffending while supporting
rehabilitation Prison Rule 3: conduct training and treatment to
encourage and assist prisoners to lead a "good and useful life"
4. CURRENT
PRISON
STATE
Increased demand over the years has led to prison building o 21 new prions opened between
1980 and 1996 o 20,000 new places from 1997 to 2010 Increased use of private prisons Now,
approximately 120 prisons and 13 private prisons o 84,078 prisoners o 12 women's prisons (might
have baby units for children up to 2 years of age)
Since there are so few, likely to be further from home Not all prisons are purpose-built o
Includes converted houses, military camps and other buildings Closure of small, expensive
prisons o Clustering of prisons into a single area/compound so as to reduce spending
Reduced costs for separate management staff and services
BUT harder to manage since they are largerTypes of prisons o Local prisons
In towns and cities
Usually used for remand prisons or for temporary purposes
Post-sentence for assessment before transfer to a training prison
Possibly for short sentences and those at the end of sentences
Usually have the worst over-crowding and worst conditions
Includes some core local prisons with high security (e.g. Belmarsh) oTraining prisons
Might be closed or open
Includes specialist prisons (e.g. therapeutic prisons like Grendon)
Open training prisons are used for Cat D prisoners
Allows prisoners to work in prison or in the local community
Ford Open Prison riots in 2011 o Buildings set alight and damage inflicted oVulnerable
Prisoners' Units
For vulnerable prisoners (e.g. sex offenders) who might be assaulted by other prisoners o Close
Supervision Centres (CSC)
In High Security prisons
For severely disruptive or violent prisoners
More time spent locked up and strictly structured regime o Protected Witness Units Cost of
prison o Approximately £37,000 per place o For Oakwood (new prison), average cost of £13,000 -
£16,000 per prisoner
Private prison run by G4S, originally meant to be a "titan" prison
5. CATEGORISATION
OF PRISONERS
• Categorisation is governed by the National Security Framework
• Prisoners should be placed in the lowest category consistent with the need for
security and control o Categorisation takes into account current sentence as well as
previous convictions and escapes (or escape attempts) o Categorisation is reviewed
regularly (yearly) on the basis of risk of danger to the public and risk of escape 4 main
categories used for adult male prisoners oYoung adult offenders and women
offenders are classified as Cat A or restricted or suitable for open conditions Category
A o Prisoners whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public or police or the
security of the state o Decisions regarding Cat A prisoners are made by a Category A
Committee at NOMS Headquarters, whereas other prisoners are dealt with by the
Governor o Sub-classification
Standard
High risk: e.g. members of gangs with access to resources for escape
Exceptional risk: have the skills, resources and determination to escape
Held in special security units o More likely to be transferred between prisons
This makes it difficult for them to complete educational or offending behaviour
courses, which in turn affects their chances of reclassification o Sent to high-security
prisons
Currently 8 high security prisons
More stringent measures (e.g. electronic surveillances, searching of inmates and
visitors, higher levels of staffing)
Reasonable conditions for those with longer sentences
Education and work opportunities o Some might be dispersed amongst Cat B
prisoners in high-security prisons
Radzinowicz: recommended avoiding creating a "no hope" climate in purely Cat A
prisons o R (P) v SSHD (2002): elderly and ill prisoner placed in Cat
6. • A
Unlikely to escape but if he did would be highly
dangerous
Court: prison service could make escape virtually
impossible for highly dangerous prisoners but should
consider individual cases Category B o Escape must be
made very difficult for them, but the maximum
security conditions are not required o Might remain in
local prisons for short sentences or be sent to
highsecurity or closed training prisons Category C o
Cannot be trusted in open conditions o But unlikely to
make a determined escape attempt, so not Cat B o
Sent to closed training prisons Category D oTrusted in
open conditions o Likely to comply with conditions as
they want to be released o Might be sent to a
resettlement prison shortly before release
7. PRISON
CONDITIONS
• Woolf Report (1991) o Result of the Strangeways Prison Riot in 1990
25 day riot causing 1 death and many injuries as well as £55 million
of damage to the prison
Led to further riots in other prisons andYoung Offenders
Institutions o Report found that the prisoners had legitimate
grievances and recommended major reform of the system
Regimes were impoverished with little access to education and
work
Staff had a culture of indifference while the prisoners felt unfairly
treated o Feeling of injustice played a more significant role than
overcrowding o Recommendations
Give reasons for decisions and improve legitimacy
Have a proper and fair grievance and disciplinary procedure
Prisoners should not be made to share cells
There should be adequate sanitation and hygiene standards o Well
received by government and prison reformers
Immediate improvements in access to phones, visiting
arrangements and prison conditions
National operating standards introduced in 1994 but since
overtaken by Key Performance Indicator Targets
Reform of the Prison Rules in 1999
Improved end-to-end management
8. • Personal Officer assigned to prisoners
Sentence planning to make the best use of the time in prison
More cooperation between Prison and Probation Service
Appointment of Ombudsman in 1994 as means of appeal against
decisions in disciplinary hearings (also covers immigration detention,
prison conditions, deaths in custody, treatment by officers etc.)
Can make non-binding report and recommendations which are
usually accepted
However, the internal procedures in prison must be exhausted first
o BUT some aspects not implemented
Use of small community prisons nearer to the prisoners' homes
Balance of security, control and justice
Greater emphasis on security after several escapes in mid1990s
Prisons still face problems of poor physical conditions and staff
relations
Insufficient work provision Prisons governed by Prison Rules 1999 o
Frequently updated and amended o Generally, prison conditions
have improved but are still worse off than the Netherlands (Easton,
2011) Prison league tables o Rank prisons on their performance
based on key performance indicator targets o By forcing prisons to
compete for contracts, intended to drive up standards and penalise
poor performance
9. WORK
• Allows prisoner to find relief from boredom and acquire
skills/income
Helps the prison to keep prisoners occupied and ease their
transition back into society (strong correlation between
reoffending and unemployment) oThere are usually insufficient
work opportunities and not all offenders are suitable for all jobs
Availability of work can depend greatly on the specific prison o
Woolf Report: prisoners should be allowed to work in areas
which fit their abilities
This would allow them to be more constructive and also better
prepare them for release oTime spent out of the cell used to be a
KPITarget but not since 2004
2011: the average time spent out of cells was 7-9 hours (for
adult men) oWages
In prison, the minimum rate is £4 per week and schemes are set
by governors (or directors of private prisons) at an average of £9
If prisoners work for external employers, National Minimum
Wage applies
Mostly prisoners in open prisons near the end of their sentence
Prisoners' Earnings Act 1996
10. • Allows deductions from prisoners' wages to make reparations to victims (if they
are on enhanced wages)Training Programmes o Constructive regimes make
custody more tolerable (Trebilcock, 2011) oWork and education both help
reintegration o Prisoners may not remain in the same institution long enough to
benefit from programmes (if they get transferred out) oThere are also insufficient
courses o ISSUE: if completion of a rehabilitation programme is a key factor in
parole decisions, depriving prisoners of the opportunity to complete one might be
unlawful
SSJ v James [2009] UKHL 22
No infringement ofArt 5 although it was irrational not to provide adequate
resources for requisite courses
Agreed that SSJ had breached his public law duties, but that didn't make the
detention unlawful (so no release) Education o Prison Rule 32(1): every prisoner
"able to profit from the educational facilities at a prison shall be encouraged to do
so"
Reasonable facilities should be provided, including libraries o But classes might
be disrupted by other activities and not all prisoners are motivated Incentives and
Earned Privileges Scheme o Set up in 1995 under Prison Rule 8 o Privileges earned
by good behaviour or performance
• Focuses on earned privileges rather than rights or legitimate expectations o Could
be viewed as an informal means of discipline Healthcare o Responsibility for
healthcare transferred to NHS o BUT mental healthcare isn't as effectively dealt
with
Prevalence of self-harm remains high and not all cases are investigated
11. OVERCROWDING
• Usually measured by comparing actual numbers with Certified
Normal Accommodation o CNA is the uncrowded capacity
calculated for the prison Overcrowding declined in the 1990s
during the prison building programme but has been increasing in
recent years
• Due to lack of accommodation
• Also affected by inflexibility of use: prisons might be too
specialised for transfers o IPP prisoners and whole life prisoners
are a problem since it is difficult for them to get out (or
impossible for the latter)
• Not only contribute to overcrowding, but might also refuse to
participate in rehabilitation and other programmes: have
nothing to lose
• Carter Review (2007) proposed the creation of "Titan" prisons to
allow flexibility in allocation as well as economies of scale o BUT
costs of setting up the prisons were prohibitive In 2011, 24% of
prisoners were held in cells designed for fewer prisoners o
Generally worse in local prisons (especially for remand prisons)
Measures o End of Custody Licence (ECL)
12. • Rationale o Reduce cost and improve standards/innovation by introducing
competition ISSUES o Some argued that the field could easily be
dominated by one or a few companies
• Serco, G4S and Kalyx o Genders and Player (2007): Interests of the
company and shareholders (reducing costs to maximise profits) might
conflict with prisoners' rights and interests o Barak-Ezez (2011):
• punishment should exclusively be the prerogative of the State, private
companies have no right to punish offenders
• Is it enough that the State is responsible for overseeing the prison?
• James (1997): compared Wolds (first private prison) andWoodhill (new
public prison), as well as some other prisons o Found that the new public
sector prisons were run in a similar manner to private prisons (possibly due
to New Managerialism) o Conditions were generally better at newer
prison, whether public or privat
13. HUMAN
RIGHTS
• Importance o Fairness and justice o Reduce dissatisfaction - easier to
manage o Improve legitimacy Sources o Universal Declaration on Human
Rights, ICCPR and ECHR
• Judicial review and challenges in the ECtHR o European Prison Rules o
Inspections by the European Committee for the Prevention ofTorture o
UK signed Optional Protocol to the Convention againstTorture
• Must establish a National Preventive Mechanism which makes regular
visits to prisons and other detention institutions ECHR oArt 3: torture and
CIDT
• Also used to challenge full body searches ofArt 6: access to courts
• Also used to challenge conduct of disciplinary hearings o Art 8: respect for
private and family life
• Used to challenge interference with visits and correspondence
14. • Used in Szuluk v UK (2009) to assert the right to correspond with a medical specialist of Art 12:
right to marry
• Used to secure temporary release for marriage (Hamer v UK [1979]) or allow marriage within the
prison if security concerns apply oVery different rights-based approach whereas the prisons
traditionally apply a privileges approach o HRA 1998
• Incorporates the ECHR rights into domestic law
• Made it easier for prisoners to assert their rights
• S6: public authorities must act compatibly
• Includes private companies acting in areas which were previously in the public sector (i.e. covers
private prisons as well) o R v Parole Board ex p Smith [2005] UKHL 1
