Tony Cameron (recently retired as head of the Scottish Prison Service) calls for major reforms to reduce not only overcrowding in prisons but also the damage that incarceration causes to rehabilitation, to hopes not only of better lives but of better communities and our society as a whole (McConnell plans instant Asbos', April 17). Mr Cameron has done sterling work as a professional civil servant, adapting to changed expectations and demands, but in essence he points out the folly of the direction in which we seem to be headed. And it is not that any serious politician, policy adviser, agency leader or key judicial player really intends this downward vicious spiral of more imprisonment which left unchecked will inevitably lead to the shredding of the fragile fabric of personal, family and community relationships that is the vital base of rehabilitation as it is of a good society.
There is an urgency in the reforms he calls for. An urgency for the individ-uals involved, perhaps especially for young short-term prisoners for whom doing time becomes as much a badge of honour as a deterrent - which only propels them further on what is essentially a course of self-destruction, with collateral damage for the rest of us. An urgency to get control of the complexities of policy and implementation and its play across all branches of government and all sectors of society. An urgency to understand what is happening in some communities and to invest in new pathways forward.
The Howard League for Penal Reform is apolitical. We call now for agreement that all parties must work urgently after May 3 to change the direction of the country in respect of penal policy and implementation while building on the aspirations and policies pursued since 1999. The fact is that these matters are complex.
All developed countries face these issues, not least since they profoundly affect their economies as well as communities. Scotland, whoever wins (whatever that turns out to mean) the election, is uniquely placed to address the issues with humanity, courage and enlightenment.
Professor Angus Skinner, Howard League for Penal Reform in Scotland.
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