A penal system that allows for imagination

20th January 2011

New Year and hopefully a new beginning for our penal policy.  It is increasingly clear that 2011 is going to see a major shift in Irish politics, and we are cautiously optimistic that this may herald a change in the direction of our penal policy. IPRT will be working closely with all of the main political parties in the run-up to the election. So far, the Labour Party is first to publish a penal policy document; it contains a number of very encouraging signals for how they might approach penal matters if in Government.  We believe that this is a very positive sign of a growing political consensus that a major change of direction in policy is possible.

It is also a sign that this moment of national crisis might provide a window of opportunity for radical thinking. IPRT is sensing that the next Government may be more open to creative thinking around crime and punishment than has been the case for some time.  In that spirit, they could do worse than look at a fascinating TG4 ‘Fíorscéal’ documentary on a Norwegian Open Prison, aired on 18^th January.  The documentary on the Bastøy Prison near Oslo was a compelling depiction of what a prison could be like.  Located on an island, prisoners enjoy a liberal outdoor-focussed regime.  Staff-prisoner ratios are low and re-offending has dramatically reduced.

Watching the documentary, a number of aspects of the prisoners’ stories really jump out:

• First of all, these are for the most part serious offenders with histories of drugs and violence, serving out the last part of their sentences in the open prison.  In that respect, they are no different to many of our medium-security prisoners, but seeing a young man in a civilised, humane environment makes a completely different impression to seeing the same man in one of our cells.
• Secondly, the calm atmosphere and its impact on the inmates is palpable. Staff and prisoners treat each other with respect, prisoners are openly addressing their mistakes, and there is real engagement around the mistakes they have made.
• Thirdly, with the bars and walls removed, the crux of imprisonment leaps out of the screen.  While the inmates at Bastøy seem to be detained in an almost incomparable context to Ireland’s closed prisons, they still express the same sense of loss of family and friends.  This is what the sanction of deprivation of liberty means – and it is a very heavy penalty.  The film carries a powerful message that the other punishments we impose on prisoners, related to loss of dignity, privacy and respect are counterproductive.  They do nothing for society and nothing for the prisoner.

If Thornton Hall is up for reconsideration in a new Government, they could do worse than see what is possible in a penal system that allows for imagination. In the words of one prisoner at Bastøy:

“Imagine two prisoners both serving long sentences; one in an underground cell 23-hours a day for 10 years; the other was on Bastøy for the last 5 years of his time. Both get released and you must decide which will be your neighbour. Which one would you choose?”