STOP JAILING, URGES PRISONS CHIEF

SCOTLAND'S Chief Inspector of Prisons last night called for fewer people to
be jailed.

His call came on the day statistics proved for the first time that prison
sentences do not prevent reoffending in Scotland.

Clive Fairweather, in a keynote lecture in Edinburgh to the Howard League
for Penal Reform, described prison as "a blunt instrument" and said "far
more punishment and constructive reparation ought to take place in the
community".

Earlier, Henry McLeish, the Scottish home affairs minister, unveiled
figures showing prison to be the least successful punishment in preventing
reoffending.

Overall, 72 per cent of all prisoners were convicted of crimes committed
within three years of leaving Scottish jails - compared with 59 per cent
who were reconvicted within three years of completing a community service
order, a sentence used by the courts as an alternative to custody.

The national average for reconviction within three years is 51 per cent,
reflecting the fact that the most widely used punishment is a fine, a
sentence which carries a 49 per cent chance of reconviction.

Mr Fairweather told an audience of criminal justice professionals:
"Inspections over the course of several years have gradually been leading
me to the conclusion that imprisonment is something of a blunt instrument.

"This takes me to the fundamental premise that far more punishment and
constructive reparation ought to be taking place in the community. Only the
most violent of those who pose a really serious threat to public safety
should be locked up."

Mr Fairweather said that approximately 10 per cent of the prison population
was mentally disordered and should not be in the criminal justice system at
all.

e also criticised the lack of constructive activities in Scottish prisons,
which bred boredom, depression and encouraged a culture of weekend
drug-taking.

Mr Fairweather said: "Most prison regimes are mainly a Monday to Friday
lunchtime operation. Therefore at the weekends most prisoners - all 6,000
of them - may be doing little else but lounging on their beds.

"A number will be committing further offences, by taking drugs to pass the
time. What the Scottish Prison Service needs to do is to capitalise on that
time with more opportunities for physical exercise, general education
classes and so on, in an attempt to reduce boredom.

"It is that boredom which may lead to the need for escape, with drugs
providing the most convenient and enjoyable route.

"We must try to break the endless cycle of coming out of prison with an
ongoing drug habit, no employment, not enough money, crime to feed the
habit, back to prison and so on."

Mr Fairweather invited sheriffs and magistrates to visit prisons to see
what they were like.

Keith Simpson, a senior manager with the community safety charity Sacro,
which aims to cut reoffending, said that the reconviction rates following
imprisonment showed clearly that prison did not work.

"As it is by far the most expensive response to criminal behaviour,
imprisonment is an expensive failure," said Mr Simpson.

"Community service orders have been established as an alternative to
custody, and they have better results than either custody or probation.

"That, to me, supports what Clive Fairweather is saying - when offenders
are given an opportunity to do something positive, to try to redress or put
right the crime they committed, that has a better and longer lasting effect
on them."

Community service orders involve the offender carrying out useful work to
atone for his or her offence. Statistics show they are particularly
successful for people aged 21 or older.

However, the most prolific offenders - those under 21 - have a high
likelihood of reoffending, whatever sentence is passed.

In total, 79 per cent of those under 21 reoffend after a prison sentence
and 74 per cent after a community service order. Probation is particularly
ineffectual for this age group, carrying an 81 per cent risk of reconviction.

The Scottish Prison Service is discussing ways to develop special regimes
tailored to the needs of young offenders.

Checked-by: derek rea