The most important task you can be asked to perform for your country is to go to war on its behalf, without questioning the validity or worth of the fight, and be prepared to die.
The second most important task your country can ask of you is to care for those whose actions have been deemed so bad, so shameful, they cannot any longer be allowed to live within the community, and so they must be cast from sight.
When we discuss the meaning and worth of imprisonment it must not be dealt with lightly. Unfortunately, we seem to be so ambivalent about this that we are unable to decide what imprisonment should be about; what it should be for.
Right now we lock up lots of people, at younger ages, and in crumbling conditions, with annual budget cuts, yet expect them to leave better equipped and rehabilitated. This when 70% of them can barely read or write and the same figure have some kind of mental health issue, often manifesting itself in violence to others or themselves.
Is it enough just to punish and, in doing so, make that harsh enough to deter future actions? Or should it be about repair of both the person and those who have been harmed?
Is it about vengeance?
What do people mean when they say there should be more discipline in prisons? I never know how to respond to that.
It makes the job of working in prison difficult when every time an election is coming up the parties vie with each other to see who can sound the harshest about crime. Every time there is a new Home Secretary we wait to see what will change. Career politicians spend a short period as Prisons Minister, tinker and talk a little then move on to Education, or Health.
Have we really figured out what we want prisons to achieve and how best to achieve that?
Comments
There are so many wonderful examples every day of miracles. How wonderful if, like nursery school, we had stickers and only applauded the positive.
The prisoner that I stood beside in the dock, locked up, counselled, interviewed, questioned and sometimes released;
The victim on whose behalf I imprisoned and exacted 'revenge';
The 'yet to be victim' whom I protected from crime;
The politician who made the rules;
The 'do-gooder' who changed the rules;
The Prison Service who employed me;
Or the general public who, as electors and tax payers, paid me.
Until that quandary is settled we cannot begin to know what we are about and until there is understanding and TRUTH about the purpose of imprisonment and the reason for criminal behaviour, we will continue to imprison the wrong people and waste funds.
Strange thing is there is never any money for intervention but, after the crime, the magistrate remands in custody and the cost is met.
The other inescapable fact about our prisons is that they are the last resort for ALL other forms of punishment should the wrongdoer be prepared to flout that punishment and pay the price.
Counselling and running therapeutic groups has allowed me to begin to see the real person underneath the mask and underneath the horrendous crimes. While most professionals were working on addressing the offence, I started with what was going on for them when they committed the crime; how did they feel and what were they trying to achieve; the sadness, pain, shame and confusion that came up which led me to begin to focus on this persons journey.
Listening without judgement, offering compassion, helping to set new clear boundaries that seem to have been muddled or non existent, sharing and, dare I say it, an honouring of each individual, began to melt some old barriers. After much time came the addressing of the offence and the shame, guilt and remorse that a cycle of events had come full circle, enhanced often by drug/alcohol misuse.
Time for change...time for the cycle to be broken! In fact the cycle was broken, honesty, no denial but acceptance and a feeling of the feelings. With new tools, new positive support systems and a willingness to begin to believe that each individual is worth loving, I guess what I am saying is that no amount of punishment can heal a wound; people learn well to conform but not reform. So many Lifer prisoners I met had learnt well to answer appropriate questions and behave with an ‘Oscar-winning’ performance, devoid of all feeling and emotion. Working with some of those lifers was like working with very young children who had never been nurtured, valued or even heard; the results were amazing.
For this model to be widespread would be heaven for staff working conditions and a wonderful investment both inside and outside. Maybe my dream of this, as well as the traffic control system for the Prison Service is just around the corner!
The public believe we run therapeutic systems so that offenders come out better people. Sadly they are unaware of how very little is really going on to bring about real change because of the lack of real understanding of the needs of staff and inmates. So no, I do not feel punishment achieves any good at all. Setting boundaries .... lovingly .... yes and massive, appropriate support for staff so they can continue to perform a wondrous, rewarding, enriching, and purposeful employment.
I look forward to your comments.................................
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