To say that prisons should be abolished altogether?

[ThisAvidOchreEagle]

Rehabilitation and community justice models work better than locking people away. AIBU to think prisons are outdated and ineffective?

What happens if a woman murders her husband because she's been subjected to years of abuse? Murder her?

YABU. There are some criminals I truly believe should never be around the public ever again. Some people can change, but the vast majority never will.

We should try to intervene early to prevent people from choosing a life of petty crime, but rehabilitation is more difficult and won't always work. Some criminals honestly are too dangerous to not be locked away for life.

And besides that, I do believe in punishment for serious offenders. I don't expect it will rehabilitate them, but it's deserved, and the closest thing to 'justice' we can manage.

I have been a prison visitor and a coppers daughter (DB and Vice).
You cannot rehabilitate paedophiles. They are mentally ill and once they have an interest in children that's it. I have a family member who is a psychologist and it just doesn't happen.
Violent crime, it depends. I've worked with two people convicted of murder. One killed her violent husband to save her children, the other was in a fight. The victim hit his head.
Those carrying knives I would automatically lock up. Ditto guns.
Prisons are warehousing with little or no training. One in ten male offenders can't read. Women offenders are drug mules or shoplifters. There are few employment schemes for women.
I don't have the answer but it isn't shutting prisons.

Google Fred and Rose west, and you will see why prisons need to exist

I do not disagree with this at all, but it does then come down to places like norway, Switzerland and Austria where there prisons are relaxed and properly re habilitated and ex prisoners rarely re offend in these countries! I think personally it needs to be a mix of both. dependant on the crime committed. throwing people in prison and then releasing them homeless in a lot of cases over here just screams I am going to re offend!

If I wanted to mingle with convicted criminals, I'd go to a Reform conference

The Scandinavian model appears to work well , however , their whole welfare state is very different which prevents crime in the first place - therefore don’t think it could be replicated here .

Plus , their taxation is HIGH .

I think we should abolish sentence under two years. There's very little that can be done rehabilitation wise in any respect with prisoners on short sentences and the merry go round of release/recall a lot of them are on is so expensive to the tax payer.

Clearly the OP is not someone to have ever been a victim of crime, especially violent crime.

A goady post and op has moved on.....

And even in the Scandinavian model there are still people who need to be locked up more securely - I’m thinking particularly of Anders Breivik here, who keeps taking the Norwegian government to court (and losing) over the fact he’s effectively in solitary confinement and keeps being denied parole.

Some of the prison population are beyond rehabilitation, you can’t just set up some talking therapy and smudge some sage round them and all is well. Some prisoners are always going to be a danger to society and need to be locked up.

Others yes maybe you have a point for the petty crime ‘bed blockers’ of prisons but where do they go if released , probably the streets and back to low level crime sadly

I think locking people in jail for things like no tv licence, non payment of bills, things like is silly & it would be better if they were doing some useful community service instead and keep space free for violent criminals, druggies etc. Being jailed for naughty tweets is absolute madness.

Scandinavian countries are (to a greater extent than the UK at least) monocultural, very small populations, high tax and high standard of living with much greater equality. There is no comparison with the UK's infrastructure. (And for all our raving about Sweden, it has the highest reported rape incidence in Europe.)

Prison abolition is borne out of the 'blank slate' theory beloved of some left wingers. That crime is always an output of socialisation - specifically deprivation / lack of education and if we just made everyone prosperous, employed and engaged in society, it would disappear. While there is no doubt this is true to some extent in specific instances of property crime, it's a terrible idea to generalise more widely.

Starmer before the election actually said that extremism and radicalisation could be minimised by employment / housing / prospects. I mean, Bin Laden was the son of a billionaire and was there anyone more socially engaged and fulfillingly employed than Rolf Harris?

Good luck rehabilitating Levi Bellfield or Colin Pitchfork.

You're either having a laugh, or you have no idea how dangerous a dangerous person can be.

@ThisAvidOchreEagle what a lot of rubbish!! are you a liberal by any chance??? or just a goody two shoes or just prison visitor???

Is this an AI generated OP?

I’d quite like to bring back corporal punishment so I’m guessing I’m not the person who’s going to agree with you 🤣

Today's wind up thread

Calling… TROLL

What a ridiculous idea. How exactly do you rehabilitate murderers and rapists with community service?

By all means put better rehabilitation programmes in place but inside prisons, far away from the public.

Of course, fantastic idea but all the rapists, murderers and paedophiles have to live in your town

I think the uk law and prison systems are shit they should be tougher more like the US life means life not 10-15 year then out on tag.
however i think schools should be scraped.