To think prison reform wasn't the top of most voters agenda?

[malificent7]

I get it is important due to overcrowding but I'm a bit surprised this is one of the first topics in the headlines.
I am all for youth hubs to target knife crime....excellent idea but releasing lots of prisoners who apparently shouldn't be there will give Reform lots of ammunition what do you think?

You'll know about it if our courts grind to a halt, which they are about to do. There is literally nowhere to put offenders at the moment.

You can't think prison rehabilitates?

YANBU - See, Labour aint all that after all.

As opposed to..? The wonderful rehabilitation currently going on in prisons?

The state of prisons is something that needs urgently looking at, and even if you don't care about the state of them and the overcrowding generally, you will when they run out of space entirely.

I'm from London, I care about the cost of living crisis, the astronomical rent prices in london and the lack of social housing. I don't care about prison reform.

Have you not seen the reports from prison governors? Labour aren’t prioritising it because they want to, it’s because there are no prison places left and we are days away from the criminal justice system grinding to a standstill. It’s a travesty that the conservatives let it reach this position.

It's ok, we've just voted them out as a Nation.

😂

Better to release low risk prisoners early, then have no prison space for 'new' high risk offenders.

And I agree that it's an inspired choice of minister, which has led to the plan being newsworthy.

If the prisons are full they need to build more prisons. The reasons the tories didn't are because they put short term interests of mps where prisons are built (building prisons is never popular with local people where they're situated) above public safety and because they're all wealthy toffs who live in low crime area. It has been proven that people who live in deprived areas are more in favour of a strong system as they see the effects of crime more. Indeed Angela Rayner has said she favours strong law and order because she lived on a poor council estate. There is no proof "rehabilitation" works - most criminals stop commiting crime as they get too old.

Also Starmer must not pander to the Far Right. Screw Reform do the right thing for the country. Locking up more people never works.

Do you think prison is a place for rehabilitation?

Are there better punishments than prison?

Should we try to put steps in to prevent people committing crime and recommitting crime in the first place?

Can we learn from other countries?

I am not convinced you'll engage in these discussions though

What do you think Reform can do with the 'ammunition?'

Starmer has clearly given a lot of thought to what he will do as PM, and prisons are one of his priorities. It won't be the only one, so give the man a chance.

We need more prisons, but I’m happy to see someone who has been actively involved in prisoner rehabilitation in charge.

By focusing on the smaller, yet critical societal “wins” they can help a cohort of people become rehabilitated and start being active contributors towards society. That has to be a good thing,

bringing in James Timpson is absolutely fantastic. He’s got a proven track record of being a success with ex offenders and those who were within the care system, having someone in place who genuinely gives a damn should be shouted from the rooftops.

There's lots of evidence that shows that prison isn't a deterrent and for short sentences actually causes more problems.

They're isn't the money, and and there aren't the officers to staff them @Northernnature

They're are a large number of unfilled vacancies in the prison and detention services. Building and fitting the infrastructure for a large prison is going to be a waste of time and money with no personnel to staff it.

A lot of people in prison shouldn't be there. People are sent to prison for not paying fines, low level fraud, taking points because their spouse was caught speeding etc.

Prison should be primarily for violent and sexual offenders, drug trafficking etc.

Read the books written by Chris Atkins (A Bit of a Stretch) and Vicky Pryce if you don't agree. Alternatives to prison for many offenders could mean that prisons could concentrate and deal better with those who should be there.

I am glad we have a party prepared to tackle issues the voters aren't interested in rather than creating stupid policies like Rwanda just to generate headlines that appeal to tabloid readers

I must admit that the only item on my agenda was giving the Tories a kicking in return for the damage they have inflicted on the country. And damn Reform, they're not even a flea bite on the arse of humankind.

I think it's an amazing posting decision. Timpsons do wonderful things to assist rehabilitation etc employing ex offenders etc

Well given each prisoner costs the public purse around £50k per year, I'd have thought people would think its a good idea to get those suitable for release out and on their way as soon as possible. Surely the 'three meals a day roof over their head at our expense' people will be delighted?

The only reason this is getting so much coverage is because of the appointment of James timpson. If they just appointed a bog standard MP from borsetshire no one would have paid any attention the way that most ppl haven’t paid attention to prisons operating at being days away from full capacity fir pretty much the last 12 months

Around 40% of inmates are reoffenders. That shows that the current system isn’t working and we just have people stuck in a cycle of crime. Nobody benefits from that.

Timpson is someone who has worked to help provide opportunities for those released from prison and it has proven successful. If that can be extended to create a system which helps reduce repeat offending (or even stop it before it happens) then that is much better overall

To me, this is big news because it shows that the new government are putting the RIGHT people in the RIGHT roles. It’s having a government with round pegs in round holes.