19th January 2010
As a human rights NGO campaigning in Ireland, it is easy to become pigeon-holed as being more concerned with finding problems than coming up with solutions. In 2010, IPRT hopes to make clear that, in calling for a reduction in the use of prison, we are also about coming up with some answers to the problem of crime.
In the face of our hugely expensive and ineffective prison system, we have been asking the same rhetorical question – “surely there must be a better way of dealing with crime?” One part of that better way is to invest in alternatives to prison at the point of sentencing, and there is plenty of potential for much greater use of community sanctions. But the bigger part of the alternative is in reinvesting our scarce resources into strengthening communities and preventing crime.
In May, IPRT will host a conference on the theme of refocusing justice policy on prevention and early intervention. At that conference, we will launch a review of the growing body of research that identifies the potential social and economic benefits of shifting resources away from imprisonment and punishment towards crime prevention and investment in communities.
In the United States, real evidence of how much can be saved by taking dollars from prison building and instead using the money to build the resilience of communities, is changing thinking around their failed crime and drug policies.
"...the prison building frenzy of the Blair years is giving way to a more considered view of how to develop crime policies built on evidence rather than on rhetoric and populism."
In the UK too, the prison building frenzy of the Blair years is giving way to a more considered view of how to develop crime policies built on evidence rather than on rhetoric and populism. I would encourage anyone interested in penal policy to read the recent groundbreaking report by the House of Commons Select Committee on Justice – “Cutting Crime: the Case for Justice Reinvestment”. This report, emanating directly from Parliament, takes a broad view of how British crime policy has descended down a sensationalist punitive road to the point where, financially, it is facing a “crisis of sustainability” (sound familiar?) Instead, the report advocates re-allocation of funds on a scientific geographical basis to local services that demonstrate how they can prevent young people being drawn into crime in the first place.
The timing of this report couldn’t be more opportune for the Irish context. The Department of Justice’s White Paper on Crime provides a window to rethink Irish crime policy. We have adopted enough of Britain’s mistakes in crime policy over the last decade – when they recognise those mistakes, shouldn’t we sit up and take notice too?
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.