Letter: Prison Service Changes

Brendan O'Friel with his Prison Governor's Journal

Dear ICN,

I write to be sure you have noticed the remarkable start the new Government has made towards tacking the problems of the prisons - about which I continue to have a deep interest and concern.

You may be aware that on 25th June the Prison Governors Association had written an open letter to all the political parties highlighting and explaining the prison crisis and asking all parties to prepare to take urgent action to prevent complete breakdown.

The new Prime Minister's decision to bring in James Timpson, a person with genuine expertise, to be Prisons Minister is a bold, valuable and significant step.

Perhaps as important - when the PM was quizzed at his first News Conference on Saturday 6th July about the appointment - he pointed out the need to make radical changes by reducing re-offending by those released from prison.

However, to deliver the degree of change needed - remember we are dealing with a prison crisis of overcrowding going back to 1946 - will require a prolonged and steadfast approach.

It is important that the main political parties resist the temptation to play the 'Tough on Crime' card - or promote Michael Howard's disastrous 'Prison Works' policy from the 1993's Conservative Party Conference. It was that change of approach that prevented the possibility of ending prison overcrowding in the post Woolf Report decade - instead the prison population almost doubled.

You may recall the extraordinary speech given at the Old Bailey in May 2023 by Sir John Major highlighting the many problems of the prisons - highly significant because he rejected the 'Prison Works' slogan that had been delivered on his watch. So there is support for change in many quarters but it needs to be highlighted and maintained.

I hope that ICN will highlight these positive steps on prisons policy but caution on the fact that this is a long haul policy which needs considerable time, effort and deserves widespread public support.

I am hopeful that some of the proposals I made at the end of my book 'Prison Governor's Journal' may yet prove to be of value in the changing approach to prison policy.

Brendan O'Friel FJMU
Port St Mary, Isle of Man

LINK

Prison Governor's Journal: www.prisongovernorjournal.com/