Blair report: prisons should be closed

2 July 2009

A report written by a commission chaired by Cherie Blair urges the government to shrink the prison estate by closing prisons.

The report Do Better Do Less is the work of a group of legal experts and academics comprising the Commission on English Prisons Today. It was commissioned by the Howard League for Penal Reform.

The authors advocate a more moderate penal policy which places a greater emphasis on community sentencing, the root causes of crime and localism. One important aspect of this sea change in policy would be a programme of prison closure. The report says that there has been “15 years of criminal justice hyperactivity” and that the result is a “crisis” in the penal system. It labels prisons “vast warehouses for the dumping of people with problems society has failed to deal with”.

The authors write: “Confidence and bravery are required. Prisons must be closed in order to achieve the kind of reinvestment required for community regeneration and in order to achieve the moderation which would give punishment in England a new character.

"A shrinkage of the prison estate along the lines of post-war Finland would create an enormous budget for the invigoration of troubled communities. One prison closure releases at least £15 million per year - £15 million spent on individual offenders with negligible positive effect.”

The money could then be reinvested in the communities which suffer most heavily from deprivation and crime, they say. Increased localism, it suggests, will be needed to win enough public support to force through the changes.

“Ensuring a direct connection between a prison closure and community improvements will be an essential prerequisite of community support. The closure of even one small prison – the manner of which would be decided by the local authority with community input - could have an immediate and very visible impact.

“From a value for money perspective it is difficult to argue against the reallocation of resources from incarcerating minor offenders to the provision of nursery places, youth centres, improved housing, heating and lighting for residents of deprived communities.”

The Ministry of Justice called the report an important contribution to the debate and said that community punishments were highly effective in dealing with minor offenses. “But prison is a central part of our policy and always will be", its spokesperson continued. "It plays a critical role in punishing and reforming and is the right place for the most serious, violent and persistent offenders. We have increased the prisons estate and will continue to develop a modern prison service which both punishes and reforms.  

“By describing prisons as “vast warehouses” the report both distorts reality and overlooks the superb work of prison officers and other staff who work so hard to protect the public and help offenders to change their lives.”