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ON OCCASION, popular policies are simply wrong. The practice of locking people up for relatively minor offences has been hugely expensive and largely counter-productive. Successive governments made the slogan “tough on crime” a rallying cry for their supporters, even as drug bosses grew more powerful and white-collar crime became more sophisticated. The result is a grossly overcrowded and increasingly dangerous prison system and a sentencing regime that requires immediate reform.

Overcrowding threatens the safety and security of inmates and prison officers alike. Its effects have been detailed by our crime correspondent Conor Lally. Because the courts are sending an increasing number of minor offenders to a prison system that lacks the capacity to accommodate them, nearly 1,000 prisoners are now on early release. In spite of that, the number of inmates in the 15 institutions run by the State exceeds their official capacity. The situation is most grave at Mountjoy Prison in Dublin. Male inmates are sleeping in large communal cells and on mattresses in the reception and basement areas. The women’s centre there is the most overcrowded of all institutions.