Role of the Prison Officer: twelfth report of session 2008-09 report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence

House of Commons papers 361 2008-09

Corporate Author:: Great Britain Parliament House of Commons Justice Committee
Author:: Sir Alan Beith (chairman)
Publisher:: TSO (The Stationery Office)

Prison officers, in day-to-day contact with those in custody, have the opportunity and potential to have enormous influence on whether particular offenders go on achieve a law-abiding lifestyle. But the system is under pressure: the number of prisoners in England and Wales has increased by 30 percent in the ten years from 1997 to 2007, from approximately 60,000 to over 84,000 today. While the number of prisoners has spiralled there has not been a corresponding increase in the number of prison officers. There is plenty of evidence that the result of the prison experience can be to "make bad people worse" and increase the likelihood of re-offending. The report shows not only the opportunities prison officers have to tackle a prisoner's offending behaviour but also the difficulties they face in trying to have a positive impact in the current prison system. Overcrowding, staff shortages and the high incidence of prisoners with unaddressed mental health, drug or alcohol problems mean the system is constantly at crisis point, leaving little or no time to build productive relationships with prisoners. The Government's policies on 1,500 place prisons, clustering and Workforce Modernisation are likely to further deskill the prison officer's role to that of a warder and risks devaluing the sense of vocation which is a significant part of the motivation of many prison officers. Reducing the ratio of officers to prisoners in pursuit of short-term economic savings will damage long-term re-offending rates, creating more victims, more fear of crime and all the social and financial damage that arises from criminality.

Extent	[2], 88, Ev 172p.	ISBN	9780215541635
Size	N/A	Price	£23.00
Binding	Paperback	Published	03 Nov 2009
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