04 October 2007
Buxton
Jack Straw addresses the Prison Governors' Association annual conference in his first major speech on prisons since his appointment.
Paul [Tidball], Governors, it is my pleasure to be here in Buxton this morning.
Let me say first of all today that I owe your members a debt of gratitude.
Not only for the work you do day-in-day out, but in particular for the dedication and professionalism which you showed in your response to the events of 29th August.
The role played by prison staff at all levels is fundamental to the working of any criminal justice system. Too often as politicians we skim over the contribution of prison staff when we express our thanks to the people who keep our crucial public services on track, though I sought to do this in my speech to my Party Conference last Thursday.
As Prison Governors you are responsible for managing some of the most difficult, the most dangerous, and sometimes the most vulnerable members of society. You provide an invaluable public service: you are the guardians not just of offenders but of public safety. With that comes considerable pressure and an enormous burden of responsibility, Something that is, regrettably, rarely acknowledged. It is rarer still that you are thanked for it. You do not get the plaudits you deserve and I am glad to have the chance to put that right today.
This message of thanks is all the more pertinent given the events of August 29th. Let us be in no doubt about the implications of that day. The strike by the POA was unlawful and irresponsible. It threatened to put the public at risk and it damaged public confidence. It is something I hope never to see repeated. I am glad that instead of conducting our discussions via the medium of the television news, the government and the POA are now sitting around a table to consider the situation. That is the way to do business and the irony is that having put the arrangements in place to hold such a meeting before the strike, the POA really didn't need to cause the disruption they did in order to get the chance to come and see me: I am not so elusive that the only way of winning an audience is to stage a mass walk out.
So once again, I offer you my thanks for the way Prison Governors and those others who remained at work ensured that the day passed without many major incidents.
I have visited many prisons during my time in Government and before. Over this period I have been able to meet with and listen to many of those working at the sharp end. Since I took this latest job I have visited HMPs Belmarsh and Preston, and HMYOI Lancaster Farms, and later this afternoon I look forward to meeting staff and prisoners at HMP Manchester and HMYOI Thorn Cross.
I cannot pretend to know what life is like for you and your colleagues on a day to day basis, but these visits do help me better to understand the pressures that the prisons and prisons staff are under. The statistics which land on my desk every day are one thing, but there is nothing like witnessing the situation at first hand.
When I became Home Secretary in 1997, I inherited a prison service that was under enormous strain from catastrophic tensions between the then head of the Prison Service and the then Home Secretary, Michael Howard, and some very high profile Cat A escapes. Thankfully, and it certainly shows the power of prayer if nothing else, there have been no Cat A escapes since then. But this fact is no necessary guide to the future, eternal vigilance and good systems are the only way to prevent escapes - and continue this downward path in other categories.
Now in 2007, returning to the brief as Justice Secretary, I recognise the different set of pressures that the current prison population creates. Pressures of maintaining order and control, of continuing to house prisoners with decency, the impact on industrial relations, difficulties around cell-sharing risk assessments all practical manifestations of prison population pressures, all stresses that you have to bear.
I also recognise how well you, prison officers and staff generally, are responding in spite of them. Last year saw the Prison Service's best ever year of performance, in meeting or exceeding 9 of the 12 targets. This is a considerable achievement given levels of overcrowding, as well as the increasing numbers of violent and serious offenders in prison which is making your jobs harder as a result.
This Government has always made the protection of the public our top priority; it is the principle at the heart of our penal policy.
Over the last ten years we have increased total prison capacity by more than 20,000 places and as you know, we have committed to an additional 9,500 places by 2012. There is no question that we will continue to provide the places to lock up the most dangerous offenders for as long as they need to remain incarcerated.
We have already delivered more than1100 new places since the start of the year and with the addition of new places in Whatton, Haverigg and Highdown we will provide 300 more before it is out. In 2008, over 2,000 more places are planned to come on stream, including large expansions at Wayland, Bullingdon, Coldingley, Swaleside and a series of smaller extensions at other prisons. [e.g. Ranby, Erlestoke, Blundeston, Kirklevington Grange, Isle of Wight, Wymott, Ashwell and Highpoint.]
But in order to deal with current pressures on the prison population and to ensure that there are sufficient prison places for those the judges and magistrates determine ought to be there we have had to employ some short term measures to alleviate the pressure.
I know that the use of court cells has been of particular concern for the PGA, as it is for me. To keep people overnight in court cells is not an option I like at all. You don't want it, I don't want it, but in exceptional circumstances it has had to be used.
The staffing of court cells, facilities that are not designed for the purpose, is placing stiff demand on prison governors. But I ask you for you patience, and your continued assistance. I want to thank you for your efforts in June when the safe operation of Court cells was a direct result of your co-operation. As I know you understand, we need to retain the option of Court cells as a last resort contingency but I am pleased to say that I have been able to rescind Lord Falconer's letter to you of the 9th June, so that in the event that you cannot reach agreement with the Prison Service on the mechanism of staffing Court cells you will be able to use the disputes procedure set out in the Voluntary Agreement.
Short term measures such as the use of police cells, the use of court cells, End of Custody Licence, have enabled us to meet demand for places while the substantial building programme is underway.
This building programme is a fundamental part of our efforts to tackle the challenge of a rising prison population.
But we should not ignore why it is we face this challenge. More offences are now being brought to justice, 1.3 million more than 1997; in turn the courts are using custody more frequently and for longer for more serious offenders; while enforcement of breaches of community orders and breaches of licence has improved considerably.
The current pressures on the system will not mean we will shy away from our duty to protect the public from those who commit crime.
Lord Carter of Coles is nearing the end of a review that looks at options for the future in terms of penal policy. He is due to report back to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and myself later this Autumn.
We have got to build more prison places, and we are. We have been very clear that prison is and should remain the right option for seriously violent, dangerous or sexual offenders. There are now 60% more violent and serious offenders in prison than in 1997, representing the bulk of the additional prisoners. But we are also clear that prison is only one instrument an essential instrument, of course, but it has never been and should never be the only instrument.
As we consider this aim, we have a choice in terms of penal policy. We could take the US approach, where prison is too often seen as the single, isolated, answer to the question of crime and punishment. The British people have never taken this view, but understood that prison is a key part of the solution, but not the only solution.
As of last Friday our prison population stood at 81,133 which represents around 148 prisoners per 100,000 of the population.
In the US, where 5% of the world's population accounts for 23% of the world's prisoners, there are 2.2 million prisoners some 738 per 100,000 of the national population. That is 1 person in prison out of every 135 Americans, and in some communities this is more than 1 in 5 particularly the among young, ethnic minorities and the poor.
If that level of incarceration was reflected here in the UK it would mean not 81,000 prisoners but 400,000; not 140 prisons but 700.
This appears to be the approach favoured by the opposition. The main opposition party have loosely spoken about building as many prison places as it takes, about ensuring that prisoners serve their full terms period, about scrapping parole. The implications in the short term would be the need to build 60,000 more prison places a 75% increase on the current estate at a cost of £6.6 billion in construction costs and £2.2 billion a year in running costs.
Aside from the economic and practical considerations of such a scenario; higher taxes, fewer hospitals, less money for education, prisons in or near everyone's back yard, we have to question whether that approach would actually provide a remedy to the problems it seeks to solve: would crime fall even further? Would reoffending rates come down? This must be our baseline in considering the future of the prisons estate. The evidence is not encouraging
Again, if we look at the lessons from the US we see the world's largest prison population but we also see rates of crime, particularly violent crime, that are considerably higher than found in the overwhelming majority of industrialised nations . An enormous prison population but rates of homicide that are 4 times higher than most Western nations.
We must also acknowledge that the public is not always best served by locking up less-serious offenders. In doing so we may fail to break the cycle of reoffending. Breaking up any connections offenders might have with their community and not doing enough to address problem behaviour can be a recipe for reoffending.
As you know better than I, for people sentenced to under twelve months in prison, reoffending rates are far too high, and this is the case regardless of exactly how long those prisoners are inside. Community sentences will, in many cases, be a better alternative. But crucially the public and sentencers need to have confidence that Community punishments will protect the public by reducing reoffending. Coming back to this area after a 6 year break, mostly spent abroad, I am struck by how much more effective probation led community penalties have become, what a difference in culture there has been in the probation service, and how much better prison and probation services work together in 'end to end' management of offenders.
Prison plays a valuable, indeed invaluable role in a fair and just society, but alongside other means of ensuring justice is done. We must have effective mechanisms for ensuring that those who break our society's rules are punished accordingly. We have a duty as a Government, and a responsibility to the public, to ensure that those who pose a serious threat to our society are kept apart from it.
We also recognise that prison not as a mere repository for those with mental health, educational, social, behavioural or drug problems, where no real attempt is made to rehabilitate or reintegrate offenders back into society. Which is why this Government has increased investment in drug interventions tenfold, which is why next year nearly £170million will be spent on educational and rehabilitation programmes. I am encouraged that the numbers completing drug treatment in prison, or programmes to address their problem behaviour, or completing basic and work skills awards are increasing in spite of the capacity pressures. And with a 72% increase in investment in probation services, much of the good work begun in prison can continue in the community.
Let me be completely clear; prison is and must remain the only option for seriously violent or dangerous offenders, and in this regard prison is a punitive institution. But for less serious offenders, and those with behavioural, mental or drug problems we must be clear about the role of the criminal justice system, and whether prison is the most effective option in protecting the public and dealing with offending behaviour.
Conclusion
An effective long term penal policy is simply not a numbers game; it is not merely an equation of supply and demand for prison places. Yes we will provide and additional 9,500 places and we will not shy away from further such decisions if we judge they are required - but there must be a balance here. We need to ensure that right people are in prison for the right length of time. We need to use alternatives to custody; fines where appropriate, community penalties where effective. We need to look fundamentally at the sort of society we want to live in. We could have a US style system with rates of incarceration five times our own. The consequences financially and socially would be dire, but most importantly it simply would not, in my view, help to bring down crime and cut reoffending. In all these discussions, that must be our central focus.
Yes, in the meantime, there are acute pressures on our prisons. But if we are to avoid these becoming chronic; problems handed down decade to decade, we need to make our choices to take the difficult decisions.
I would like to finish where I started, by thanking you. I appreciate the pressures you are under and the job you are doing. I hope that today I have made clear that I am prepared to support you and make the decisions which will help you to do your jobs more effectively.
Your ongoing commitment, dedication and professionalism is vital for the short term and for the future of a modern, efficient, effective penal system.
Thank you.