whether the Tories are serious about reforming prisons and reducing reoffending,they need to take on literacy levels, invest long-term and face down their rightwing criticsBetween 2001 and 2005, and as a Metropolitan police commander,I was based at HM Prison Service HQ as police adviser to their executive. This gave me an inside view of their culture and political relationships, and gives me an insight now into the obstacles they are facing whether David Cameron and Michael Gove are genuine in their intent to introduce major progressive reforms in England and Wales.
In my time there neither the prison executive nor the prison ministers seemed to realise that in the internet age the assumptions that they would be able to continue operating unaccountably behind closed doors was no longer sustainable. I still gain enough connections to know that mentality remains embedded and will take some shifting.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com