THURSDAY’S announcement that seven prisons are to be closed in March 2013 will endanger the government commitment to a rehabilitation revolution, insisted the Prison Officers Association (POA).
The POA said in a statement: ‘Prisoners will now be transferred into an already overcrowded and volatile prison estate.
‘Eighty-one prisons in England and Wales are officially categorised as overcrowded and this announcement is tantamount to an abrogation of responsibility by the Coalition government.
‘The policy of prison closures endangers the safety of the public, custodial staff, prisoners and visitors to prison establishments.
‘In such an operational environment, the continued insistence on unsustainable cuts to expenditure is dangerous and absurd.
‘The POA continue to remind the government that prison inspectors and penal pressure groups consistently point to the effectiveness of small-scale prison establishments in rehabilitation outcomes.
‘Once again the POA call upon the Coalition government to listen to the experts, the men and women who work within the criminal justice system.
‘Our message to government is clear and unambiguous. Safe secure and decent prisons are non-negotiable and the POA will ensure the Health and Safety of our membership. So we warn government to take heed or face the consequences.’
The POA said on Tuesday: ‘The decision to privatise public sector assets HMP Northumberland (HMPs Castington and Acklington) and the South Yorkshire Group of Moorland, Hatfield and Lindholme prisons is a disgraceful decision.
‘The announcement that the policy of competition of prisons is to end in this Parliament contradicts the need to contract out these prisons and the decision is clearly wrong.
‘These decisions are based on a flawed ideology and not on cost and provision of services. Private good/public bad is an abrogation of responsibility by our elected representatives.
‘The incarceration of the guilty and on occasion the innocent has to be the responsibility of the state. There can be no place for profit out of misery in a civilised society.
‘Prison staff now face an anxious and uncertain future. The POA will support and protect our members through the transition from public service to private profit.
‘Safe, secure and decent prisons are non-negotiable.’
The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) also condemned the decision announced on Thursday to close seven more public sector prisons as ‘irresponsible when the prison population remains high and overcrowding is widespread’.
The PCS warned: ‘The closures of Bullwood Hall, Camp Hill, Canterbury, Gloucester, Kingston, Shepton Mallet and Shrewsbury will mean redundancies are likely with damaging knock-on effects on local economies.
‘Any fall in the number of prisoners should be used as an opportunity to reduce overcrowding and focus more resources on reducing reoffending and protecting the public.
‘With the government announcing in November that four more prisons are to be handed to private companies, today’s decision will mean a higher proportion of jails are now being run for profit.
‘The new prison places also announced will predominantly be in private prisons.
‘The news comes just a day after the government announced probation services will mirror the privatised payment-by-results model used for the Department for Work and Pensions’ work programme that has been shown to have been so ineffective in finding sustainable jobs for people it was worse than doing nothing.
‘Before today, private institutions in the UK already held up to 20% of the prison population, the highest in the world.
‘Privatisation and closures have happened without any public debate or scrutiny and the union is calling for an independent review into the full impact of privatisation in the prison service.
‘This should include a thorough examination of the process and financing, and the impact on prisoners, staff, communities and the public – and a moratorium on any further privatisation until it is completed.’
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: ‘These closures are unnecessary, irresponsible and amount to more privatisation by stealth.
‘The fact this is happening without any public debate or discussion ought to be a national scandal and we urgently need an independent review to look at the impact of prison privatisation on our communities, staff and prisoners.’
The University and College Union (UCU) said that plans to shut seven public prisons and reduce the capacity for prisoners would do nothing to enhance the likelihood of fewer prisoners reoffending.
The union said moving more prisons to the private sector, with more retendering for education contracts, meant there was little continuity for offenders.
The UCU pointed to studies that show that prisoners who do not take part in education are three times more likely to be reconvicted than those that do.
A National Audit Office (NAO) report said that many prisoners were failing to get the rehabilitation they needed.
The report found that many prisoners were spending all day in their cells, rather than being engaged in education and rehabilitation.
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: ‘The prison system, and offenders in particular, need some continuity.
‘Prison education is the key factor in cutting reoffending, but the constant chopping and changing of education contracts and government tinkering with the system means many don’t get to see their courses through properly.’
