davieG Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 I can't conjure up much sympathy myself. Some prisoners are living and sleeping in toilets because of jail overcrowding, a report says. HM Inspectorate of Prisons found Doncaster jail held almost 200 more inmates than it had been intended for. Two-man cells had been turned into three-man cells by putting an extra bed in the toilet area. Meanwhile, a separate report from the Commons justice committee says the government's sentencing policies are adding to overcrowding in prisons. 'Unacceptable' Doncaster jail, run by the private firm Serco, holds almost 1,000 male prisoners - 200 more than it can accommodate in uncrowded conditions. The Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales, Anne Owers, said using the toilet area as accommodation was "unacceptable" and called for the practice to end. In its report, the justice committee called ministerial pledges to build more cells a "risky" strategy that had failed to address deeper issues over crime. Its chairman, Liberal Democrat MP Alan Beith, said: "Changes in sentencing policy and practice leading to longer sentences have been a significant contributor to the unexpected and unplanned increase in both prison and probation populations. "We urge the government to address sentencing policy in a more considered and systematic way and to reconsider the merits of this trend." The MPs criticised a "deeply unimpressive" government-commissioned review of sentencing by Lord Carter, which they said was based on "wholly inadequate" consultation. The report said: "There is a contradiction in stating that prison should be reserved for serious and dangerous offenders while not providing the resources necessary to fund more appropriate options for other offenders who then end up back in prison. "Short custodial sentences are very unlikely to contribute to an offender's rehabilitation; in fact, short custodial sentences may increase re-offending." 'Wholly indefensible' Community sentences, instead of replacing short jail terms, were being used in place of fines, adding to the "inexorable rise in sentences". The MPs said it was "wholly indefensible" that prisoners were being kept in jail too long because of problems with "indeterminate" sentences, introduced four years ago for "dangerous" criminals. Under this system, a minimum prison term is handed down, but the offender must satisfy the authorities that he or she is fit for release and does not pose any threat to the community. The report said indeterminate sentences should only be used as a "rare exception". They were being given to inmates handed prison terms so short they could not complete courses required to win parole. This meant they had to be kept on after the end of their intended jail term. Justice Secretary Jack Straw has already announced indeterminate sentences will be amended to apply only to prisoners who are given a minimum of two years in jail. The committee's report also called for an "urgent review" of the numbers of young people being given short jail terms. 'Incoherence' Mr Straw last year announced a £1.2bn plan for an additional 10,500 prison places, 7,500 of them in three "Titan" prisons. For the Conservatives, shadow justice secretary Nick Herbert said there was a "complete incoherence in government policy which has lurched from releasing 30,000 prisoners a year early to belatedly building the biggest prisons in Europe". Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: "This devastating report makes it perfectly clear that the current prison overcrowding crisis is a product of the government's short-sighted criminal justice policies." Prison Reform Trust director Juliet Lyon said: "This blistering report must make ministers review their failing prisons policy before they disappear down the bottomless public spending pit of Titan jails." But Justice Minister David Hanson said: "Thanks to the policies of this government since 1997, crime has fallen dramatically. "This is the only post-war government to have overseen a cut in crime rather than an increase. We are unapologetic about our approach to law and order: it has made our communities safer and there is no greater priority for government. "Prison sentences which punish and reform, not least through education and training, are a vital part of a justice strategy which has helped this fall in crime." Mr Hanson added: "We will respond to the detailed points in this report in due course."
blue blood Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 only 3 to a cell? and only one in the 'toilet area' I call that good conditions.
Daggers Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 I wish Jeffrey Archer had been made to live in a toilet.
davieG Posted 22 July 2008 Author Posted 22 July 2008 why can't they just build more nicks There's plenty of builders that would welcome the work. If the prison population should drop MPs can use the spare cells as second homes, they'd look smart and contemporary with all those John Lewis accessories. I wish Jeffrey Archer had been made to live in a toilet. He smells anyway.
blue blood Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 the picture below looks overcrowded....what they are describing in the article is at best a little less leg room.
The People's Hero Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 Builders, prisoners, prisons... it's all a bit gritty and real world for me. I'm off to play GRiD!
Tommy G Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 why can't they just build more nicks ££££££££££££ Government spending isn't a bottomless pit you know. Were already having to borrow more than ever before! I do agree with your point, they should build more prisons, but then another area of government spending will suffer, either that or more Tax rises
Bellend Sebastian Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 why not just send them to australia? That's like a holiday camp. Antarctica would be better
Daggers Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 why not just send them to Derby? You evil-hearted bastard.
Dr The Singh Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 Make the inmates build there own jails, hard labour that's what they need!!
The People's Hero Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 They should do work for the public good, like in the States where they clean out the drains or dig ditches beside roads to enable proper drainage etc etc.
Alexikokopops Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 I wish Jeffrey Archer had been made to live in a toilet. He got to work in the Theatre Royal in Lincoln, some might say they're almost comparable...
Bellend Sebastian Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 They should do work for the public good, like in the States where they clean out the drains or dig ditches beside roads to enable proper drainage etc etc. Or rebuild my patio
The People's Hero Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 Or rebuild my patio You might want to bury messr Hammond a little deeper first.
Bellend Sebastian Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 You might want to bury messr Hammond a little deeper first. I hadn't thought of that. It's the ideal time to sort out all the grudges I have against the world - this could take ages
The People's Hero Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 I hadn't thought of that. It's the ideal time to sort out all the grudges I have against the world - this could take ages When they've finished with your patio, they can start work on our laptop. We'll put it in Tiverton. Not actually out at sea, just in Tiverton.
Bellend Sebastian Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 When they've finished with your patio, they can start work on our laptop.We'll put it in Tiverton. Not actually out at sea, just in Tiverton. There was a cracking lighthouse on Breakfast News this morning. I was well jealous
AoWW Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 There was a cracking lighthouse on Breakfast News this morning. I was well jealous I'd like to live in a windmill. Random? Yes, ok... there was a connection somewhere there in my bewildered brain.
Bellend Sebastian Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 I'd like to live in a windmill. Random? Yes, ok... there was a connection somewhere there in my bewildered brain. Well, lighthouses don't come on the market very often, and when they do they're ludicrously expensive (apart from that one I found for £1 that needed 'some' work doing), so a windmill would be a good second choice, but I fear we'd have the same problem with them. TPH and I will end up co-habiting in an electricity junction box at this rate. You're all welcome to join us
AoWW Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 Well, lighthouses don't come on the market very often, and when they do they're ludicrously expensive (apart from that one I found for £1 that needed 'some' work doing), so a windmill would be a good second choice, but I fear we'd have the same problem with them.TPH and I will end up co-habiting in an electricity junction box at this rate. You're all welcome to join us Water tower? There's a cracking converted one in Thorpeness, Suffolk called 'The House in the Clouds'. It's huge... the whole of FT could live in it (well, the select few that we'd want... I'm not totally convinced your 'all welcome to join us comment' was sufficiently thought through!
Bellend Sebastian Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 That's ace, I want it. It would be like Big Brother, but with fewer rules. Actually, that sounds terrible, what was I thinking? It will have to be the Swan Lesta house, visits by appointment only, thank you
AoWW Posted 22 July 2008 Posted 22 July 2008 That's ace, I want it.It would be like Big Brother, but with fewer rules. Actually, that sounds terrible, what was I thinking? It will have to be the Swan Lesta house, visits by appointment only, thank you It's got a huge games room right at the top, apparently. Sea views, pub within spitting distance.... ahhh,
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