Commenter birgerjohansson was kind enough to send me this interesting article about how the Netherlands is reducing its prison population and closing down some of its prisons and converting them to cultural centers.
The Dutch have seen their prison population decrease by more than 40% over the past 20 years. At the other end of the spectrum, Britain has the highest rate of incarceration in western Europe, and is struggling with an unprecedented prisons crisis. Britain’s minister of prisons, James Timpson, calls the Netherlands a source of inspiration.
Part of this is due to the general reduction in violent crime that has been occurring worldwide. While non-violent crime has not decreased, those crimes provide less of an impetus for incarceration, the negative consequences of which are becoming increasingly apparent.
But while the Dutch don’t have a model policy the world can copy, the overall Dutch attitude towards imprisonment could be instructive. According to Pakes, the Dutch are much more aware that a stay in prison does more harm than good. Society may be rid of a criminal for a while, but in many cases, criminals simply resume their activities when they leave prison. They may become more ruthless, due to the violent prison climate in which they have had to survive. And perhaps they have a wider criminal network that they built up behind bars.
This also applies to shorter sentences. Even these can completely turn an offender’s life upside down. You can lose your job, home and social network. And you rarely become a better person during a short stay in jail.
…It is not uncommon for British judges to impose what seem to the Dutch relatively long sentences for minor offences. Dutch judges are much more inclined to give community service or a suspended sentence in similar cases. Research shows that this is not only cheaper but also reduces the likelihood of reoffending. Even in cases where prison time is given, the lengths of sentences for lesser crimes such as theft have declined significantly over the past decade, although the lengths of sentences for violent and sexual crimes went up.
…Apart from looking at the Netherlands, Timpson might also consider the remarkable prison system of Norway. Its prisons are often small and very focused on reintegration. They are designed so that daily life can proceed as normally as possible.
As a result, inmates are less alienated from society. It is easier for them to integrate than for a person coming from an overcrowded British prison, where they have been locked up for 22 hours a day because the staff couldn’t manage otherwise. In such cases, the transition to the outside world can be extremely abrupt. You may see someone reoffend within the first few days after their release.
The author looks on the UK as having a failed prison system. The US is even worse because there is a firm belief that being seen as tough on crime is a necessary prerequisite to gaining high office, so politicians get locked into supporting a highly punitive system.
It is long overdue for a major overhaul,
Exactly the same dynamic applies in the UK. Performative cruelty is the order of the day.
In the case of the UK (and I strongly suspect it’s very similar in the US), a very large part of the problem is the failure (or rather, the deliberate dismantling) of mental health care provision. According to evidence given to House of Commons Justice Committee by The Centre for Mental Health:
[Source]
It seems to me that we basically ignore people’s mental health issues until and unless they result in offending behaviour, at which point we lock them up. Which, to borrow from I think Douglas Adams, is a bit like trying to cure someone of hypothermia by throwing them in a freezing cold lake…
@Dunc #1: When I was a kid I described that as “hitting your head with a hammer to cure a headache”.
James Timpson was an inspired choice by Starmer.
Just in case you don’t know, Timpson runs a chain of dry cleaners and key cutting stores, with many in supermarkets. Many of his employees are ex-offenders who, had they remained jobless, may well have gone on to reoffend. He finds his staff to be highly motivated and dilligent.
Timpson is a great believer in rehabilitation and prison reform; he puts his money where his mouth is.
I am glad to hear this about Timson. I hope he gets the support to make some serious reforms.
I’m going to bring up something that seems to be overlooked: there are people who are simply a threat to everyone around them. Some appear to be born this way, some are created. While we work on better mental health, it’s important to also look after the people who aren’t committing crimes.
Case in point; there is a young 20-something in my neighborhood. This kid was terrible from the stroller on up. The other kids in the family aren’t horrible, but this one…screaming and kicking and cursing out other kids at the school bus stop, bullying, stealing, etc. etc. Hit his teens and started breaking into cars, breaking into homes, selling drugs, etc. etc. Caught in the act on ring cams, caught by neighbors…absolutely no consequences. Police couldn’t care less (the offender is white).
Just recently the law caught up to him, when he robbed and assaulted another drug dealer. THEN the state stepped in--we must protect our drug dealers! The rest of the neighborhood is just glad he’s in jail. The crime rate has plummeted 100% since he’s been gone. We’re all hoping he pisses off the wrong inmate and never makes it out of jail.