Putting Prisons Right

To achieve the radical reform Michael Gove is considering, means not only putting prison right but also putting it in its place. The Justice Secretary must reserve imprisonment as a punishment of last resort for serious and violent offenders in a balanced justice system. That is the right thing to do.
Juliet Lyon
Director, Prison Reform Trust. Huff Post.
I really must say that this is one of the most stupid statements I have ever seen in my entire life. When I was a magistrate, I spent hours of my time trying to send down people who really needed to be locked away from the rest of us but I eventually realised that it was an exercise in futility. I was unable to jail the most persistent of offenders who had laughed in the face of community sentences. I could see offenders defy court orders with impunity. I saw serious offenders gaining sentences the equivalent of three or four weeks in length - usually served in the most laid back regimes imaginable in remand prisons. I saw sentences in abundance which contained neither a deterrent nor any retributive element nor protection for our hapless community. It was always the mythical 'rehabilitation' which won the day. As I was originally taught - rehab is just one portion of sentencing by courts and NOT the be all and end all.