It appears that the building of new Titan prisons is to proceed. Whilst we will clearly be able to imprison more offenders, the evidence shows that this type of large establishment is unlikely to help in reducing re-offending. As the official projections show, the prison population will continue to rise, resulting in more victims of crime and further waste of public money that should be spent in other ways - the elderly, education, health, pensions, transport infrastructure etc. Why do we keep banging our heads against the wall? Is the pain not enough? If we keep doing the same things we will keep getting the same outcomes!
A critical factor that does not appear to be mentioned in the debate is that of recruiting and training suitable numbers of staff to man these establishments. Prison Service staff are already stretched with officers leaving or suffering from stress related illness. Where will the additional staff be found and how will they be trained to meet the requirement? Of note, the UK's current Prison Officer training is only 8 weeks long.
Reducing re-offending and social exclusion through innovative training; promoting increased understanding, personal change and skill sets necessary when working with marginalised groups, challenging behaviour and poor motivation. Promoting public debate surrounding the reduction of crime and re-offending, particularly former military veteran offenders. Engaging society and encouraging greater understanding and responsibility.
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