CHALLENGING THE PRISON CULTURE

Our home affairs minister, Henry McLeish, is to be congratulated. His new
initiative to tackle the appalling suicide problem in Scottish jailsmay come
only weeks after he announced a strategy which ought already to be grappling
with the problem, but at least he has proven that he is willing to listen.
UKP1.1 million and 33 extra staff at the prisons with the highest suicide
toll cannot guarantee that no new tragedies will occur, but they do
demonstrate good intentions.

The minister's new task force, which will investigate the ten suicides which
have already occurred this year, also deserves our support. But all of these
announcements deal with the problem not the causes. Mr McLeish's most
positive virtue is his willingness to do more than that.

Yesterday he indicated that he also wants to extend the availability of
non-custodial sentences using techniques like electronic tagging and drug
treatment orders. This is the correct approach but Henry McLeish knows that
making available serious alternatives to incarceration is not sufficient in
itself.

For his enlightened approach tp penal policy to pay dividends it is also
necessary to persuade the sheriffs and judges to play their part. 'The
Scotsman' has already revealed the extent to which some courts appear
reluctant to make full use of the non-custodial options available to them.

The minister can move heaven and earth to improve prison regimes and to
train staff to identify prisoners at risk of suicide. He has indicated that
he will make strenuous efforts in those areas. The real challenge is to
persuade the more conservative members of the judiciary that imprisonment is
often a very bad idea.

This is difficult. For decades our judiciary has been lambasted for showing
excessive leniency. Few sheriffs or high court judges fear condemnation by
tabloid newspapers or politicians when they err on the side of harshness.
They have become accustomed to being pilloried for precisely the opposite.

Henry McLeish has a battle to fight if he is to change that culture.
Politicians who express views on sentencing are ritually accused of
compromising judicial independence. Without making that mistake the minister
must continue his efforts to create a culture in which a prison sentence is
regarded as a flawed last resort. It will not be easy, but he can rely on
our continued support.

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett