Our prisons are being used as social dustbins, to the long-term harm of many petty offenders and at huge cost to the taxpayer. Research by the Institute of Criminology at University College Dublin (UCD) has shown that more than half of all inmates are sent to jail for minor offences and are likely to be re-committed within four years. This level of incarceration and recidivism is a scandal touching not just the prison services but the Government and the judiciary.
Prison reform is not a vote-catching issue. Politicians are more likely to seek favour with the electorate through punitive measures rather than rehabilitation programmes. But the State has a duty of care to offenders: to protect them against assault or worse while in custody and to assist them in becoming law-abiding and productive members of society. Its agencies have failed in most of these areas.
A waste of public money, rather than the blighting of young lives, has made the UCD research newsworthy. It makes little sense to spend about €2,000 a week to lock up people who fail to pay fines and civil debts. Especially as four out of five of them are likely to re-offend. These individuals tend to be young and unemployed. Society and the education system has failed them. And they deserve a more considered response. Two years ago, the Government rejected a Fine Gael Bill designed to prevent such imprisonments by allowing fines to be deducted from welfare payments. And what happened to the system of restorative justice and community work programmes that judges are supposed to implement?
At a time when the Government is flush with cash, this whole area is crying out for change. Our prisons are overcrowded and have totally inadequate remedial and other services. Severe mental illness among prisoners is 40 times higher than in the general community. And many people who find themselves unable to cope through drug abuse or homelessness end up there. This is not acceptable in a civilised society. It would be far better - and cheaper - to provide for their treatment and care within the community. Prisons are generally seen as places of retribution and punishment. That is understandable where dangerous criminals are concerned. Even there, however, rehabilitation services are required.
The first priority must be to ensure that only serious offenders are sent to jail. At the moment, one-in-five prisoners are locked up for failing to pay court fines. Others have psychiatric problems. In this dysfunctional and hugely expensive system we employ as many prison officers as there are prisoners. And the number of administrators has been rising steadily. Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell fought a long-running battle with prison officers over unacceptable levels of overtime payment and won. He now plans to relocate Mountjoy Jail to a greenfield site. As the UCD research confirms, however, the problems with our penal system go far deeper.