Pact responds to announcement of independent prisons review

In response to the Government's announcement of an independent review of the prison system, Andy Keen-Downs, Pact CEO said: 

“We welcome this review and the opportunity it provides to address some of the long-term major challenges facing our prison system. 

“We anticipate that the review will identify overcrowding, self-harm, violence, drug use, workforce pressures and an aging and increasingly vulnerable prison population characterised by high levels of mental ill health. We also hope that it will also recognise the over representation of people from minority communities.

"These and other factors combine to have a profound impact on people in prison, staff and families alike. It is right that the review take to take a long-term look at the resilience and effectiveness of prisons, and to consider how the system can better support rehabilitation and reduce reoffending. 

“However, we have had no shortage of reviews, inquiries and inspections in recent years, and there is already a substantial body of evidence about the problems facing prisons. The challenge is not understanding what is wrong; it is finding the political will to act. For far too long, the prison system has been the poorest of poor relations in our public services, with successive governments using it as a political football.

"If this review can take the politics out of the prison debate, and help build the consensus needed for meaningful and systemic long-term reform, it will be welcome. But people in prison, their families, and prison-based staff, need change on the ground, not simply another report telling us what we already know.  

"In particular, we hope the review will recognise the crucial role that families and relationships play in creating safer prisons and in driving down reoffending. Strong family ties are one of the most effective factors in supporting wellbeing and providing people with the support that they need to make a fresh start. Any vision for the future of prisons must put healthy relationships at its heart. "