Sir, – In the letters “Prison overcrowding and penal reform” (June 25th) and “Building more prisons is not the answer” (June 26th) writers highlighted that the number of people in prison custody has surpassed 5,000 for the first time. The Government’s approach to relieving the pressures on the creaking prison system is clearly failing given that we regularly hit new record-breaking highs. Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has consistently highlighted that the continued over-reliance on imprisonment for less serious offences and the high rate of pre-trial detention (remand) means that the unacceptable increases in the number of people in prison was entirely predictable.
This upwards trend is wholly disappointing, especially after a welcome reduction in prison numbers during the Covid-19 pandemic showed what’s possible with a different approach. In fact, the Government itself has identified many of the solutions to alleviate overcrowding in their own policy document, A Review of Policy Options for Prison and Penal Reform 2022-2024.
We need a renewed focus on this comprehensive roadmap to transform not only the prison system but the entire criminal justice system. Community-based sanctions should be the default for less serious offences, reducing prison numbers and allowing the Irish Prison Service to better resource rehabilitative services. This would save taxpayers money, ensure justice is delivered appropriately, and reduce reoffending – supporting individuals to turn away from crime, ultimately to the benefit of society.
Unfortunately, there is still an over-reliance on short prison sentences for less serious offences, despite the damaging and long-lasting impact it has on individuals, families, and communities. Almost three out of four committals are for a sentence of 12 months or less. The Government could fulfil its promise of reviewing the Criminal Justice (Community Sanctions) Bill 2014 and legislate to ensure that people who don’t pose a risk to the public serve their sentences in the community where appropriate.
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I would also question whether all the people currently on pre-trial detention (remand) need to be in prison. One in five people currently in prison have not been convicted of a crime. A bail support scheme for low-level offences could reduce the prison population and negate the need for prison expansion.
Investing in alternatives to imprisonment and rehabilitation measures, such as addiction and mental health services, healthcare and housing supports in the community, and step-down facilities for people leaving prison, would benefit everyone in society. – Yours, etc,
SAOIRSE BRADY,
Executive Director,
Irish Penal Reform Trust,
Dublin 7.
Sir, – I often find myself agreeing with Peter McVerry, but I can’t go along with his claim that the proposal to build additional prison spaces is unimaginative and lazy (Letters, June 26th). In my view, it is long overdue.
Fr McVerry is concerned that the prison population has passed 5,000, but he ignores the fact that our overall population has grown hugely in the past decade, so we need more prison spaces. In addition, an increase in drug-dealing and spin-off criminality has created significant threats to the law-abiding majority, many of them trying to raise families in the disadvantaged areas he refers to.
People live in fear in isolated communities while gangs roam freely, confident that they will walk free until they have racked up many convictions. Families trying to raise children in disadvantaged areas fight a losing battle against drug dealers who exploit their children by using them as drug mules, but when any of them are caught they use their free legal aid rights to walk free, to reoffend.
The system has to do three things. It has to provide a disincentive to commit crime, it has to ensure the victims of crime are protected by locking up the perpetrators, and it has to attempt a process of reform. We need a new high-security prison that is drug and mobile phone free, and we need our existing prisons to be used to house first-time offenders, with a heavy emphasis on reform. Then if criminals decide to continue with a life of crime after release, we should introduce them to “hard time” next time around.
The most important people in this debate are the victims, not the criminals, and we must never forget that. people choose to be criminals, but victims don’t choose to be victims. – Yours, etc,
JOHN MULLIGAN,
Boyle,
Co Roscommon.