Does Prison Work? The Guardian

The Guardian’s prison columnist, Erwin James , reflects on the lessons of 16 years under lock and key in an article written on Monday January 29 2001.

(JC: interesting to note the prison population seven years ago and how the tabloid headlines are still saying the same things)

“Almost 63,000 people live behind bars in Britain, about the same number as live in Guildford. They are locked up in our name, yet we know remarkably little about the life they lead. Are we too hard on our criminals – or, as the tabloid headlines frequently suggest, too soft? And more importantly: does prison ever work?”

To read the full article