most costly to society and the state – a placement in prison. The failure of the current system can be tackled by changing the priorities of criminal justice and mainstream agencies. A reinvestment of the resources now spent on custody can be used to fill gaps of provision. The report Punishing Costs presents a policy that would make this a reality.
At present, local authorities don’t pay for prison placements for children from their areas. Investing into the support that would keep children out of custody comes at an extra cost to councils. Devolving the budgets for prison places to the local level would encourage local government to give alternatives to prison and the prevention of crime the high priority they deserve.
Where local agencies are successful in reducing the need for prison, budget devolvement would allow them to keep and reinvest the funds they have saved. The policy would encourage a reallocation of resources spent on prisons to improve the welfare of children or develop disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
The same case was made for the adult justice system by a cross-
Jul/Aug 10
party group of MPs in January. The Justice Committee’s report presented extensive evidence of how stringent community sentences and local programmes to help with substance misuse and education would deliver more in cutting crime.
The public decision about what type of punishment is appropriate should naturally go beyond mere arguments of economic efficiency. Moderation in the use of prisons rests also on the democratic ideals of public policy promoting inclusion and maintaining a humane and proportional criminal justice system.
All the same, in a historic moment when the success of a government will depend on whether or not they are trusted in the management of public finances, it has to be brought home how fiscally irresponsible and wasteful the commitment to high levels of custodial populations are.
Given the climate of fear about crime and its political salience, it may seem like a tall order for politicians to abstain from the law and order arms race. To appear tougher on crime than opponents is a tried and tested political strategy.
Research, however, shows that the members of the public do not favour the use of custody for crimes which are not serious, especially if they are aware of alternatives such as community sentences. This suggests that the majority, if properly informed about its ramifications, would not choose to vote for the continuation of the current dependence on imprisonment.
Making this a reality will require government to take leadership on the issue and to communicate openly about the costs and effectiveness of current penal policy. They should make it clear that the amount of crime has fallen and the increased spending on criminal justice, at the expense of other public services, can be put to question.
Rising up to this challenge would do a great deal to improve the security on our streets. At a time when no additional spending is available, policy-makers can ignore the evidence about what works only at the expense of public safety.
The Stanford economist Paul Romer remarked that a crisis is a terrible thing to waste. Nowhere is this more true than in criminal justice.
Tell us what you think at
opinion@publicsectorexecutive.com pse 23 Within the youth
justice field, about ten times more is spent on locking up children than on projects to prevent them from becoming criminals
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