Why we need to change the justice system

The criminal justice systems in the UK need to be radically overhauled with much less emphasis on imprisonment, according to the humanitarian Terry Waite.

Waite, who spent five years in captivity in Beirut at the hands of Islamic Jihad, said as well as a change in political policy, there also needs to be a shift in public opinion if improvements are to be made in cutting crime.

He visited Edinburgh earlier this month to deliver a lecture, called Compassion and Justice, and in an interview with Holyrood, said many of the systems currently in place are counterproductive.

His visit to Scotland came the same day Brigadier Hugh Monro, Scotland’s Chief Inspector of Prisons, published his annual report that said there were “far too many young people” in jail.

Waite, the former envoy to the Archbishop of Canterbury, said: “There are two purposes in going to prison – and the first one is punishment. There are often comments made by people who have never been in a prison that jails are too soft these days and they are not enough of a punishment.

“Before people make such a comment, I think it would be wise for people to actually go into a prison and see what it’s like and to see what it is like to have absolutely no freedom.

“The second purpose of prison is rehabilitation. You find in prisons there is, generally speaking, a very high percentage of inmates who are suffering from some sort of mental disorder, either genetically or brought about by the use of alcohol or drugs, and that requires treatment.

“Well, when you’ve got vast numbers of people in one area and when you have prison officers, many of whom do an excellent job, but are not necessarily trained to deal with mental disorder then you have to ask if this is the right place for some people?

“Are prisons properly constructed for therapeutic work and to fulfil both parts of the obligation – punishment and rehabilitation? I have seen prisons do marvellous work in getting people away from drug dependency – only today in England, Ken Clarke (the UK Justice Secretary) said there is going to be five new wings specifically to deal with drug-related issues and that is excellent, but there has to be something on the outside too.

“Most people come out of prison after being cleaned up and they have only £40 in their pocket, they have no home, they go back amongst their old friends and it is easy to see how people get into old habits again.

“We have to find an effective way of linking good practice in prison with what happens on the outside.” Waite was in Edinburgh to speak at an event hosted by Sacro, the community justice voluntary organisation working across Scotland.

He insists that a change in public opinion is just as important as a political one.

He added: “The general public need to become educated on these issues and not just take stereotyped opinions that are fed to them.

Opinions from some parts of the media that are not actually based on facts or knowledge.

“People talk about it being too expensive to use alternatives to prison. But if you look at this in the long run and the amount of money we are spending in the current system, it is shocking.

“In England we spend on average £46,000 per prisoner per year – I am speaking to you from the offices of Sacro which is an organisation that specifically works in areas of rehabilitation and constructive programmes to help people when they come out of prison to move on. They are doing that on a very limited budget of just £600,000 per year.

“That is a drop in the ocean compared to the damage that is done by crime – the social upheaval, the cost of keeping people in prisons and so on.

“Yes, it costs money to run alternatives to prison, but often in the long run it is economically cheaper than prison. For the amount of money it costs to imprison someone you could send them to Eton.” He added: “There is a tendency, and it is within all of us and I don’t exclude myself, to negatively stereotype offenders.

“A member of the public has maybe been a victim of crime, which is infuriating and you get really mad. Maybe they have had their car stolen or maybe they are someone who has gone home and found their house destroyed by a burglar. If you didn’t get really angry at that you would be very unusual indeed – I think it is natural to feel that way.

“So I can really sympathise and understand victims being really angry and deeply wounded and upset.

“But having said that, the way to deal with the problem once you’ve got the anger out your system is not vengeance. The way to deal with the problem is to ask ‘what can we do as a society, what can I do as an individual to prevent this type of thing happening and to enable people who engage in this type of activity to have their lives turned round’? The attitude of saying ‘lock them up and throw away the key’ does not work and so attitudes have to change.” Waite has long experience of the criminal justice system in the UK and was a founder trustee of the Butler Trust, an organisation that acknowledges the work done by those who work in UK prisons.

The Scottish Government last year passed legislation that included a presumption against prison sentences of less than three months.

Waite would like to see that go even further.

He added: “That policy was absolutely totally right – but I would go even further and I would say a sentence of 12 months or less is virtually useless.

“By the time an offender has gone into prison, has been processed, settled in, they are out and it does no good to anyone. Some say prison is that short, sharp, shock – but it isn’t and does very little in the area of rehabilitation.” Waite added that one alternative that can be successful is restorative justice, which can include an offender being made to meet with their victim. It is a system being expanded in England, and there are hopes the same can happen north of the border.

Waite said: “Restorative justice programmes where they are effectively run are really good and a number of police forces are adopting them as a strategy. The great advantage is it enables the offender to face the crime and anyone engaged in these programmes will know when offenders have actually been faced with their victim they have been really shocked by the impact their crime has had.

“From the other side, for the victim they should have an opportunity to have something restored. The benefit of these programmes comes both ways. The victim will get answers to a lot of their questions and that really can help someone move on. But restorative justice programmes have to be properly funded and structured.” He added: “I’m not just saying I have total sympathy for those who offend and not the victims. It is because the anxiety caused by being a victim of crime is so great that we need to do what we can to limit this. By simply looking at the issue and studying the effect prison has, or doesn’t have, it is clear a different approach is needed.

“By thinking bigger and correcting the insufficiencies we have in the system we have an opportunity to make the changes that could improve society for everyone – that surely has to be worth making the effort.”