PRISON TRUST CALLS FOR HALT TO JAIL BUILDING PROGRAMME

THE huge prison building programme proposed by the Government promising
another 2,000 prison places is ``an extravagant waste of taxpayer's money''
and should be halted, the Irish Penal Reform Trust urged yesterday. The
Trust said new prisons are under construction despite the absence of any
research to suggest that they are necessary and it said prison must become
the option of last resort.

In a submission to the Government working group examining the juvenile
justice system, the Trust urged it to call on the Government to halt its
prison building programme.

Instead monies earmarked for new prisons should be redirected towards
supporting families in ``areas of multiple disadvantage where criminality
is concentrated,'' which are easy to identify and mostly in Dublin.

They said initiatives aimed at strengthening families and promoting
pre-school education reduced the likelihood of future criminality while
American schemes showed $7 saved in law enforcement for every $1 invested
in early intervention.

It also called for:

* A reduction in overall use of prison sentences to Scandinavian levels;

* The replacement of short terms of imprisonment with community penalties;

* An end to the jailing of fine defaulters;

* The use of hostels as alternatives to prison for those denied bail.

* Single cells for all prisoners and an immediate end to ``slopping out''.

* The closure of the ``decrepit and depressing'' Limerick women's prison.

In a policy statement, the Trust said the crime rate in Ireland is low by
international standards and has been dropping in recent years.

Less then two in 100 crimes in 1996 fell into the category ``offences
against the person'' which include murder, rape, sexual assault and
kidnapping.

In most robberies the value of the property was under IEP200, yet the cost
of keeping one person in prison for a week was IEP900.

EXPENSIVE OPTION

The Trust said prison is an expensive option and should be used sparingly
for the most serious or dangerous offenders.

Yet one in three adult committals to prison were for non-payment of fines
and the Trust said it was ``disgraceful'' that so many people were jailed
each year for what in many cases was due to poverty.

Instead of prison for non-payment of fines the Trust advocated a unit fine
system based on the offenders weekly disposable income which meant the rich
were fined more then the poor who have been convicted of the same offence.

The Trust also believed that we jail too many children for petty offences.

One in three Irish prisoners is under 21, a higher proportion than any
other country.

It called for the implementation of the Children's Bill in full on a single
date, as well as the provision of a drug treatment facility specifically
for children.

There was no independent monitoring of prison conditions, there was no
Inspector of Prisons and visiting committees were ``uncritical and lacked
credibility''.

The prison population per 100,000 recorded crimes is 2,120 in the Republic
compared to 510 in Sweden and 2,390 in Northern Ireland.