How Can The Criminal Justice System Become More Sustainable? Part 1.
- Ella Cohen
- Dec 8, 2022
- 10 min read
Updated: Dec 9, 2022
The Criminal Justice System is simply not sustainable.
But what is sustainability?
What a great place to start because everything in society should boil down to this factor and how, what and why we behave and the way we are. It should be no different for the Criminal Justice System.
The common misconception about sustainability is that sustainability is solely rooted within environmental factors which quite frankly is outdated. Sustainability is so hard to define because it is ever evolving and always changing so looking at the development of sustainability may be less complex to get your head around.
"Development is a process of enlarging people's choices. The most critical of these wide-ranging choices are to live a long and healthy life, to be educated and to have access to resources needed for a decent standard of living” (United Nations 1990).
“For sustainable development to be achieved, it is crucial to harmonise three core elements: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection” or in other words People, Planet and Profit. “Sustainable development calls for concerted efforts towards building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future for people and planet” Therefore “these elements are interconnected, and all are crucial for the well-being of individuals and societies” (United Nations 2016).
My passion lies in the prospect of sustainability for people because without it how do we expect our people to help the planet and exponentially make profit...
To hone it on where people matter, I revisted the United Nations 17 Sustainable Goals. (SDG's). The SDG's were discussed by at an historic UN summit in 2015 and brought into action in January 2016 when they were adopted by world leaders.
The SDG’s I'm focusing on are:
Good Health and well-being
Quality Education
Decent work and Economic Growth
Peace, justice and strong institutions
Partnership for the goals
So how does this relate to the Criminal Justice System and the rehabilitation of prisoners and ex-offenders? I’m going to look at the SDGs as a process as they are all interconnected...
STG 1 - Good Health and Wellbeing
There is a serious problem with mental health in prisons in the UK, it has been shown that “45% of adults in prison have anxiety or depression, 8% have a diagnosis of psychosis, and 60% having experienced a traumatic brain injury” (Durcan 2021a)
Source: Linkedin
I looked at The future of prison mental health care in England report which had been commissioned by NHS England and NHS improvement and their key recommendations on improving mental health in prisons.
Source – Centre For Mental Health
There are too many avoidable remands and short sentences, according to Durcan, "when a viable community alternative may have been available." Prison "can exacerbate mental health difficulties," leading to record-high rates of suicide, self-harm, and violence (Durcan 2021).
The report (Durcan 2021) sets out some key recommendations:
Make all prisons safer by giving all staff training on mental health and trauma
Invest in community sentences so that people can get mental health support without going to prison
Speed up transfers from prison to hospital so that no one waits more than two weeks for urgent care
Change the Bail Act to stop people being remanded to prison for their ‘own protection’
Ensure anyone leaving prison with a mental health problem gets health care in their community
Extend digital mental health support in prison
How about keeping minds busy with educational programs that not only help individuals inside prisons but also after release in communities? It is too common to see that with prisoners spending up to 22 hours a day (HM Inspectorate of Prisons 2017) locked in their cells they are turning to drugs to “relieve boredom and provide temporary respite from depression and anxiety” (HM Prison and Probation Service 2019). “Research has shown that chronic boredom can increase your risk factors for mental health issues, leading to negative thinking patterns, impulsivity, and self-destructive behaviors” (Ph.D 2021). Surely this is not a sustainable use of time and money being ‘used’ in the Criminal Justice System. So, what could prisoners be doing in their spare time? This Leads me directly onto my second SDG...
SDG 2 - Quality Education
Maybe you're starting to realize how one STG can directly impact another? Or at least I hope so...
Coates argues that “Improved prison education can transform individual prisoners’ lives” but by doing so it also builds safer communities and reduces “the significant financial and social costs arising from reoffending – estimated to be £9.5-£13 billion per year” (Coates 2016)
Education should be accessible to all in society as “It is one of the pillars of effective rehabilitation” (Coates 2016) and without it how do we expect to see change?
The system has consistently failed the majority of people who have been prosecuted in the UK. According to the Prison Learning Alliance, 47% of those entering prison in 2020 lacked any prior education. Even more shocking is that 42% were expelled or permanently excluded from school (Prisoner Learning Alliance (PLA) 2020).
Instead of helping these troubled individuals who often “act up” in lessons due to not getting the help they need to aid their educational process they are ignored and let down by the very educational system that is meant to help them.
This is evident in the fact "that perhaps half of those entering prison could reasonably be expected to have some form of neurodivergent condition which impacts their ability to engage” (HM Inspectorate of Prisons and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service 2021). These people are not receiving the support and education they require to achieve and as a result, wind up in the criminal justice system.
It is undeniable that innovative thinking is essential when it comes to the future of education in the Criminal Justice System. Without the skills needed in order to get employment or go onto further education indivduals become secluded from society. At this point they would “find it very difficult to reintegrate if they are left ill-equipped generally” (Prisoner Learning Alliance (PLA) 2020). This is often the cause of rebellion against society because why would they respect a society that doesn’t respect or help them?
As you can see the lack of Quality Education could be one of the main reasons people end up in the Criminal Justice System.
But upon entry to the sytem are they finally getting the education they ultimately need?
The Quick answer is no, absolutely not.
While there is education provided in prisons, it is unquestionably not of the "Quality" this SDG aspires.
Ofsted went into 45 prisons between September 2018 and August 2019. The Results were as follows:
Results
2% were deemed Outstanding
38% were deemed as good
44% Required Improvement
16% were deemed Inadequate
Additionally, 16 prisons failed to develop individual learning plans to guarantee that offenders received appropriate employment and education (Ofsted 2020). When education is viewed as a "one size fits all" approach, it is damaging to the program's performance and the future of these prisoners. So not only is the educational system failing in the most imperative years of development, its failing school leavers, neurodiverse people and people that enter the Criminal Justice System as a result.
But education isn’t solely essays and formal classrooms work, prisoners can benefit from the more vocational educational programs that exist in the UK. After looking at Dame Sally Coates review on education in prisons “unlocking potential” and her personalized and inclusive approach to learning I feel this is where a lot of inspiration for change should come from.
“There should be no restriction on the use of education funding to support the creative arts, Personal and Social Development opportunities, and family or relationship courses. These can be used to engage prisoners in education and support them to make progress against their Personal Learning Plan” - (Coates 2016)
Coates also expresses that each prisoner should have a Personal Learning Plan outlining the specific educational activities that should be undertaken during their sentence. If they switch prisons, this should be available in a digital version that can be tracked across the system.
The plan “should be informed by initial assessment, be subject to regular review, be integrated with the sentence plan, be owned by the prisoner, be shared with key agencies and be accessible on release. Where appropriate the plan should be directed towards an agreed employment pathway” (Coates 2016)
I believe that support to implement these learning plans should be widely accessible to the prisoner. The educational leader appointed to the prisoners should receive a learning plan, along with information on how they can support the prisoner's journey toward rehabilitation via education, in addition to just the prisoner. To ensure that the learning plan is successful, there should be frequent meetings and interventions, as well as a place for the prisoner to provide feedback. There should be meetings with the professionals offering these educational programs and creating the development plans to talk to each other from other prisons to collectively discuss what works well and what is failing to give effective and tangible results.
If the educational system isn't ever-evolving is this really a sustainable practice? If the prisoners aren't given the opportunity to feedback and the space and time for these meetings being made, how can we improve our educational system? How can we work towards the SDG of Quality Education without it?
Coates believes that Prison Governors should “be held to account for the educational progress of all prisoners in their jails, and for the outcomes achieved by their commissioning decisions around education and their leadership of the prison” (Coates 2016). Because surely just like head teachers in schools they need to be held accountable for the rehabilitation rate of prisoners in their educational systems.
If the Criminal Justice System begins to take steps like these the re-offending rate should hopefully go down due to education giving people “the knowledge and skills they need to stay healthy, get jobs and foster tolerance” (United Nations 2020) and eventually providing quality education for all will lead to a “peaceful and prosperous world” (United Nations 2020)
SDG 3 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
SDG 4 - Decent work and Economic Growth
This leads to my third STG - “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions” Which directly correlates to my final STG “Decent work and Economic Growth”.
I hope you can now see how the current education system in the Criminal Justice System is simply not sustainable. This is proven in the fact that “Three fifths of prisoners leave prison without an identified employment or education or training outcome” (Coates 2016).
So, what is actually being taught in the Criminal Justice System in the UK currently?
With the lack of Personal Learning Plans “Around 70% of work in prison is for the internal prison market (e.g. making boxer shorts, welding cell doors, printing leaflets) with 5% sourced from other government departments (e.g. MoD)” (Coates 2016)
How can we expect prisoners once they leave the system to find “Decent Work” when they haven’t been given the skills or tools to go into the community with? Instead of solely basing jobs inside prisons on the internal prison market, a real change needs to happen with quality education, real life skills, trades and potential for progression. Prisoners should be encouraged to gain transferable skills and qualifications to integrate themselves into society and to stop them from re-offending.
The Clink - https://theclinkcharity.org/
During my research I found The Clink Charity that teaches catering skills in prison which are then used for The Clinks catering service, restaurants and events for paying customers.
Picture Source: Brixton Buzz
“Prisoners are then released on ROTL (Release on Temporary Licence) to continue working in the Clink restaurants, and they are then supported into employment. There are Clink restaurants at HMPs Brixton, Cardiff, High Down and Styal.” - (Coates 2016) Clink is an example of an amazing charity really aiming to reduce the recidivism rate that exists in the UK though uncoventional education programmes. Using practical vocational education with opportunities to slowly integrate into society with the use of ROTL's.
To find out more about The Clink Click Here
Another charity Doing this effectively is Inhouse Records - https://www.inhouserecords.org/
Inhouse Records is a record label working with 6 prisons to reduce the recidivism rate in the UK. Working with over 300 men by educating and giving real life experience with skills such: how to run a record label, writing, performing and marketing they give these men the skills and ambition for future employment.
Recently they have just broken into the festival industry too with a set at Latitude Festival.
Picture Source: UAL
To read more about the amazing work Inhouse do click here.
Other Charities to explore that are helping to reduce the recidivism rate via creative practices include:
Only Connect - https://onlyconnectuk.org/
Finding Rhythms - https://www.finding-rhythms.co.uk/
Unlock - https://unlock.org.uk/
Release on Temporary License (ROTL)
In-between January and March 2021 there was a massive decrease "in the number of people granted temporary release from prison” (Norris 2021). According to the Governments Offender Management Statistics there was a 78% decrease in the people granted temporary release (Gov UK 2021).
Covid 19 was partially to blame for this due to ROTL being suspended in March 2020, but this is an ongoing issue needing to be addressed. Prisoners Released on Temporary License Plummet by Sian Norris discusses the dramatic decline in ROTLs over time.
Norris argued that the use of ROTL’s “allow for prisoners to meet family members and reintegrate into the community before they are fully released” Providing opportunities “for prisoners to find work and begin to rebuild their lives” - (Norris 2021).
Norris observed a decrease in the number of ROTLs between 2007 and 2017 and believes that this " cannot solely be explained by the Coronavirus restrictions” Norris 2021). Between 2007-17 the use ROTL fell by 18% for male prisoners and a staggering 40% for women.
This was due to a change in policy review and change by HM Inspectorate of Prisons, commissioned by the then Justice Secretary after three high-profile ROTL failures in 2013. One being “later convicted of murder and another of attempted armed robbery” (Beard 2019).
The report, Prisoners' Release on Temporary Licence, concluded that:
• The purpose of individual releases was not clear; • There were insufficient safeguards to manage the risks presented by some higher risk prisoners; • Risk assessment processes were inadequate Therefore, these individuals shouldn’t have been allowed the use of ROTL, but is it sustainable to sweep all prisoners with the same brush?
This is a huge fail by the Criminal Justice System and the prisons themselves.
The use of ROTL could be absolutely detrimental to the re-offending rate but ONLY if the correct procedures and precautions are followed.
Reference List is available at the end of Part 2 - How You Can Help?
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