I was privileged to go the National Conference of the Independent Monitoring Boards last week. Boards of volunteers "do what it says on the tin" in Prisons & Immigration Detention Centres. The conference, aptly called "Shifting Sands & Changing Times" was stimulating, thought provoking & deeply worrying.
Crispin Blunt the Under Secretary for Justice outlined the Government's plan for prisoners doing paid work. The Government envisage a full working week, with the possibility of 24 hour shift work, as a viable alternative to current offshore outsourcing. The business partners in the privately run operation will be "paid by results" in reducing re-offending. One good idea is that prisoners would learn skills which would help them into work upon release. It is difficult to see how short term prisoners will benefit though.
This will of necessity, radically change the way prisons are run, with the possibility of prisoners working to sustain the prison system. It wasn't clear whether they will be paid the minimum wage & how much of their wages they would keep. Money could go into the Victim Compensation Scheme for instance. It also wasn't clear how security would be maintained & what the Prison officers think of the scheme. One also wonders what the Unions think of the scheme at a time when unemployment is growing & highly experienced & skilled people are finding it impossible to get jobs.
Brian Pollett - Deputy Director of Contracted Prisons also spoke about the Governments plans for private prisons. There are 12 with 2 more being built, run by 3 different companies, who now have 16% of the prison population. Eventually it is envisaged that all prisons will be contracted. Again "payment by results" in reducing re-offending is the mantra. Other contracted services within prisons include Prison Escorts, Education, Healthcare, Substance Misuse, Buildings Maintenance & Community Penalties.
Crispin Blunt the Under Secretary for Justice outlined the Government's plan for prisoners doing paid work. The Government envisage a full working week, with the possibility of 24 hour shift work, as a viable alternative to current offshore outsourcing. The business partners in the privately run operation will be "paid by results" in reducing re-offending. One good idea is that prisoners would learn skills which would help them into work upon release. It is difficult to see how short term prisoners will benefit though.
This will of necessity, radically change the way prisons are run, with the possibility of prisoners working to sustain the prison system. It wasn't clear whether they will be paid the minimum wage & how much of their wages they would keep. Money could go into the Victim Compensation Scheme for instance. It also wasn't clear how security would be maintained & what the Prison officers think of the scheme. One also wonders what the Unions think of the scheme at a time when unemployment is growing & highly experienced & skilled people are finding it impossible to get jobs.
Brian Pollett - Deputy Director of Contracted Prisons also spoke about the Governments plans for private prisons. There are 12 with 2 more being built, run by 3 different companies, who now have 16% of the prison population. Eventually it is envisaged that all prisons will be contracted. Again "payment by results" in reducing re-offending is the mantra. Other contracted services within prisons include Prison Escorts, Education, Healthcare, Substance Misuse, Buildings Maintenance & Community Penalties.
80% of prison costs are in staff. One wonders how many will be retained by the private prisons. It costs about half a million to set up each competition bid. Competition will, it is hoped, challenge old ways of working & bring in new ideas. I would like to know what the evidence is that privatisation works & where that evidence was obtained from. Or are the Government going to impliment these schemes on a "suck it and see" basis & hope that the evidence supports the changes? If they are wrong we will have "thrown the baby out with the bathwater" & the system will be very difficult to recover.
I can't help feeling that the evidence from contracting out parts of the NHS & Education isn't particularly encouraging. Aren't there just some things that should be run by the State & we taxpayers should "bite the bullet" & pay what it costs for a good service?
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