To think prisoners shouldn't be allowed to smoke?

[angelos02]

In the new today it said there is a pilot about to be done in some prisons to not allow prisoners to smoke. I think this is fair. People that haven't broken the law can't smoke at work, in pubs, cafes, shops etc so why should criminals be allowed?

Get paid to do work . Shouldn't they be working in prisons anyway? I would have thought that working would teach skills, give them something meaningful to do etc. I am amazed that it is an option to sit in your cell for 23 hours.

It sounds like we have the worst of both worlds - not enough rehabilitative stuff to actually make a difference, or enough punitive stuff to make it off putting.

they work as a reward and do not receive an 'outside' wage for it.

YABU.

Not everyone in prison is guilty of a crime. Some are on remand and are innocent until proven guilty.

A large number of those incarcerated have all sorts of drug addictions and problems. Smoking is the least of their worries. I don't think people really understand how prison life is. You have very little control over any part of your life, subjected to searches etc. You know a lot of them work around the prison as cleaners and cooks and get a fraction of the minimum wage.

The prison service has got bigger fish to fry.

Oh and to the poster who was talking about pregnant POs they get removed from frontline duty as soon as they say they are pregnant.

BrokenSunglasses I don't think the argument about a non smoker having to share a cell with a smoker holds any weight at all. If a non smoker doesn't want to share a cell with a smoker, they shouldn't have committed a crime.

Seriously? You think that part of being imprisoned should be to accept the risk of a future death from a torturous form of cancer? That's a rather cruel and unusual punishment, in my opinion, and shouldn't be accepted as a necessary byproduct of crime punishment. We do not deal out death sentences and we do not force anyone to sacrifice their health without consent.

What of that old fella imprisoned for not paying his council tax (a political protest, if I recall). You'd force passive smoking on him, an elderly man with no violent tendencies and full expectation of rehabilitation?

I could see smoking and non-smoking wings, though. With smoking wings available to those on remand, for those with genuine chaotic addictions, and by way of privileges for good behaviour.

Prison sentences are not a big deterrant for some people. The thought of having to give up fags might actually be quite powerful.

in my establishment a non smoker is not forced to share a cell with a smoker. Every effort will be made to ensure that.

I agree with it. Smoking is not a human right.

I spent time in a secure psychiatric unit this year, I was not allowed to smoke inside and I had to wait for a member of staff to open the door to the garden when I wanted a cigarette. I remember watching a programme about prison life, which showed prisoners smoking in their rooms and having their own TV etc when I was in the unit and it felt so unjust that I had done nothing wrong and had less freedom than the prisoners.

Anyone who says prison is a holiday camp is either stupid or believes what they read in the daily mail.

As others say, they can't even deal with the issue of illegal drugs in prisons, so how the heck is a smoking ban going to work?

I feel for the staff working in prisons who will actually have to implement this stupid decision.

Theoretically, drugs are totally banned in prisons, with severe consequences for anybody caught with them.

However, prisoners can still get their hands on them! Where there's a will, there's a way.

Prisoners do not have cash in jail; they trade things with each other return for favours, mostly cigarettes, but many other things such as phonecards.

All this is described in detail in Jeffrey Archer's "A Prison Diary".

A ban on smoking will be unworkable. Like oh so many other top-down decisions which affect many people EXCEPT the person who makes it, the decision will have been made from behind a desk in Whitehall, by somebody who has probably never set foot in a prison.

i agree with the 'holiday camp' thing Amber.
If it was so great, surely all the poor would be creating crime all over the place just to get a nice break.
Just think, no food bills, utility bills, no responsibility.

they do have cash, but in small amounts

I didnt think service men and women who live in barrack blocks were allowed to smoke in their rooms. (Maybe they do, but I'm not sure it is allowed) And that is their place of residence. I hadn't thought about prisoners being allowed to smoke in their cells before, but no I don't think they should be able to. Smoking is not a human right, you can choose to do it if you wish, but should be aware that if you get locked up fags will be something you have to live without.

www.theguardian.com/society/2012/may/18/halden-most-humane-prison-in-world

www.theguardian.com/society/2013/sep/04/bastoy-norwegian-prison-works?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487

Our vision on prisons is wrong. The removal of liberty is the punishment. Once you have your captive audience work needs to begin on rehabilitation. Our rates of reoffending are too high. Our system is not working. You might not like the Norwegian methods - but they get results. And that's the most important thing.

Most prisoners are in their to receive punishment. They should not be allowed to smoke! If they start to throw tantrums, prison officers should be given more force to deal with them. I don't care if prisoners get angry or it violates their human rights - what about their victims? (or the victims family who are angry about small prison sentences)

oh ffs, get a grip

YABU.

Smoking and non smoking wings.

fluffyfressinggown Sorry to hear you were in a secure unit which was bloody non smoking. I was in before the ban thankfully. Not sure how I would have coped otherwise

YABU. What is the point of banning smoking? Really

Um prisoners can smoke in their cells.

They can't smoke in communal areas.

Smoking isn't a basic human right, It's a lifestyle choice. Prisoners should only be allowed basic human rights. If they can still do as they wish in prison it isn't a very good deterrent.

Maryann1975 But service men and women can go outside for a cigarette, prisoners are locked in their cells for long periods so obviously can't.

I fell very sorry for the prison officers who will have to deal with the fallout if this ban goes ahead.

All these people saying "They should be doing this and that" - and how do you think you MAKE them? So if you want them to be working anyway and no access to TV/fags/time socialising/learning new things then how are you going to make them work? What if they say NO?

The place would be chaos. If they are allowed nothing to do then you would need more and more staff to help control the violence/vandalism that would ensure from the boredom and isolation. If they are just locked up and nothing to do then they will soon learn they have to create a drama, harm themselves, destroy property or threaten suicide to get attention and entertainment.

Unless you want millions spent on increasing staff then you need incentives to encourage them and activites to help re-educate people.

LBE indeed.

Agree with stuntgirl on the purpose of prisons, but they shouldn't smoke. It's pointless, unnecessary, unhealthy and creates a false feeling of being active.

Prisoners should be treated like children, feed them and keep them healthy in body and mind. Incarceration is their punishment and that will be felt more strongly when they are comfortable and given time to think about home and freedom.

When they wrap themselves up in anxiety about where they are going to get their next cigarette their minds are occupied and there is no real punishment, just an alternative existence to the one they had before, following the same patterns of behaviour. Rehabilitiation can't operate in that environment.

I agree with Passedgo

The Prison Officer's Association are supporting this ban. They have been campaigning for it since 2007.
Smoking is already banned in Young Offender Institutions.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24170235