Ordinary Eve
Punish or Reform?
Prisons have been in the news quite a bit lately. It seems that Britain locks up more people than anywhere else in Europe and overcrowding is a real problem. With statistics showing that 60-70% of ex-prisoners re-offend within 3 years of being released, the ‘lock them up and forget about them’ attitude doesn’t really wash. So does prison actually work, or does the system just produce more hardened criminals with neither the will nor the ability to go straight when, or if, they leave? Should we be releasing and tagging prisoners instead, or imposing fines rather than sentences for minor crimes?
Current debate
It seems to me that most people who take an interest in what happens in prisons see their purpose as reforming and not just punishing criminals. The current debate in the UK over giving prisoners the vote has highlighted these two things. One camp takes the attitude that if you break the law and end up in gaol you forfeit your civil rights (and what about the rights of the victims?). The other camp sees a benefit in allowing prisoners who will be released some day the right to vote, as this will help prepare them for entering the outside world and playing a socially responsible role.
But how?
So how can prison reform people?
I have been privileged to visit three British prisons and have been impressed by the high calibre and the positive attitudes of the staff and volunteers. There is a great deal more going on now in terms of rehabilitation of offenders and giving them the tools for life. Chelmsford Prison in Essex runs computer classes and courses on how to apply for a job. One young man proudly showed me the CV he had prepared.
There are also anger management courses, drugs and alcohol programmes, even courses that teach you how to think about the consequences of your actions. This may sound bizarre but apparently the prison officers can easily tell the difference between someone who has gone on an ‘Enhanced Thinking Skills’ course and someone who hasn’t. They also run parenting courses and give fathers tips on helping their kids with homework. There are family visiting times where Dads are encouraged to play with their kids and they even encourage prisoners to read stories onto tape so that they can be played back to their children. Not to mention art, creative writing, gym instructor training and workshops where prisoners re-condition wheelchairs to be sent abroad. I may be an idealist but imagine leaving prison with a belief that you can do something useful, with a sense of self worth and knowing that someone has given you a chance, perhaps for the first time.
Yeah right...
I can hear the sceptics among you crying ‘whatever next?’ and yes, there are those prisoners who aren’t interested or who will take advantage of these privileges. But what’s the alternative – not to bother with them?
And then there’s the tremendous work done on the spiritual side by prison chaplains and ordinary Christians who visit, perhaps motivated by “when I was in prison, you visited me” (Matthew chapter 35. v 26). Elizabeth Fry - that amazing 19th century prison reformer - saw the need to ‘get at the hearts of men and women, set before them that which will inspire them, give them some lovable conception of God…’ and it worked.
There but for the grace of God...
We are all sinners and we all need Jesus to change us. If I had been born in different circumstances than I was, or had not become a Christian at a young age, who knows, perhaps I wouldn't have kept on the right side of the law...
For more information go to HM Prison Service web site.
Kate Orr
