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Early release of prisoners

ARGUMENTS FOR:

Prisons (with over 81,000 inmates) are appallingly overcrowded and cannot do their job of rehabilitating offenders.

All prisoners, bar a tiny handful of 'life means life' inmates, will one day be released: the sooner they are free, the more quickly they can be reassimilated into society.

There are more than three times the number of women in jail than 10 years ago. An early release scheme would restore mothers to their children.

Headlines sensationalise the reality: most of those who may be released are low risk offenders a few weeks away from their planned release date.
The First Post guide to the issue of the day

ARGUMENTS AGAINST:

Public trust in the criminal justice system, already low, will be further undermined by criminals such as burglars receiving 'soft' treatment.

A sentence should mean what it says. It makes a mockery of a judge's intentions to release prisoners that have completed less than half their sentences.

Prison protects the public. While inside, criminals cannot commit further crimes.

Letting prisoners out early is simply 'political' ­ a result of the government's failure to build sufficient jails.

Offenders who believe that any sentence other than a jail term is 'getting away with it' will be encouraged to continue offending.

FIRST POSTED JUNE 19 , 2007

News & Comment: News & Politics