1. It costs on average £38000 a year to keep someone in prison

2. A third of prisoners have nowhere to live on release

3. 75% of criminals sent to prison for the first time commit another offence when they are released

4. Prisoners may be allowed to have a computer and games in their cell

5. There are approximately 97,000 people in UK prisons

6. Unconvicted prisoners can wear their own clothes

7. There are only about 5000 women in prison in the UK

What is prison life like? FACT OR FICTION?

1. It costs on average £38000 a year to keep someone in prison

2. A third of prisoners have nowhere to live on release

3. 75% of criminals sent to prison for the first time commit another offence when they are released

4. Prisoners may be allowed to have a computer and games in their cell

5. There are approximately 97,000 people in UK prisons

6. Unconvicted prisoners can wear their own clothes

7. There are only about 5000 women in prison in the UK

What is prison life like? FACT OR FICTION?

THEY ARE ALL FACTS!

What is prison life like?

Fairness and Justice: Human and legal rights of those arrested and

in prison

Learning Objectives

• To understand the daily routine of life in prison

• To explore the rights of prisoners: visits, work and pay, education, personal possessions etc

• To be able to explain the challenges faced by the prison system

b) Explain three reasons why people

may say prison is too lenient (6 marks)

c) Present a case in favour of making prisons harsher

(12 marks)

For the most serious offences the court may impose a prison, or 'custodial', sentence.

• The length of sentence imposed by the court will be limited by the maximum penalty for that crime.

• A custodial sentence can only be imposed if:

• the offence is so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified;

• the offence is a violent or sexual one and the court believes that only a prison sentence would adequately protect the public; or

• the offender refuses to comply with the requirements of a community order.

When is prison necessary?

Deciding which prison someone is kept in

The type of prison offenders are sent to depends on their crime and sentence. The risk of harm to

the public and how likely they are to try and escape is also considered important

• Open and Closed Prisons• Training Prisons• High Security PrisonsPrison staff can change a prisoners security category if

they think the prisons has become safer or more dangerous.

Prisoners have the right to

complain if they think their

security category is wrong

Prisoner Rights

A prisoner has fewer rights that someone who has not broken the law, but all prisoners have basic legal rights on

how they are treated that can’t be taken away

1. The right to food and water2. Protection from bullying, violence and racial

harassment3. Being able to get in contact with a solicitor

ADD TO BOX A

Privilege Levels

Indicates what can a prisoners do, how many visits can they have each week, what personal

property can that have etc

All prisoners start on standard privileges

»BASIC

»STANDARD

»ENHANCED

The levels were introduced in 1995 with the aim...“to encourage responsible

behaviour by prisoners; to encourage hard work and

other constructive activity by prisoners; to encourage sentenced prisoners to

progress through the prison system; and to create a more disciplined better controlled and safer environment for

prisoners and staff.”ADD TO BOX B

Based on behaviour in prison. The

higher the more privileges they

receive e.g. Increased number of

length of visits.

A day in the life of a prisoner…

Typical Prison Routine:

•7.30    Breakfast •8.30    Work or education •11.30  Lunch and lock up in cell •1.30    Return to work/education •4.30    Finish work and return to cell area •5.30    Dinner and lock up •6.30 Association/education/group work •8.30    Lock up for the night

Work: During the day inmates are allocated

duties including sewing T-shirts, cleaning prison wings, working in the

kitchen

Education classes are

provided including

courses in IT, Languages, Gardening, Reading,

Writing, Maths. Prisoners can

obtain qualification

such as GCSEs

If you are on remand you are allowed three

weekly visits from friends and family. If

you are convicted you are allowed

fewer

Association= ‘leisure’ time out of cells. This is the time that prisoners can

make phone calls

Some prisons do not have enough education or

work places for everyone so some prisoners are

locked up for most of the day only being allowed

out to use the telephone, visits or collect meals

All prisoners should be able to spend between 30 minutes to an hour outside in the open air

each day

Convicted prisoner must

wear the clothes the prison gives

them including underwear and socks

Unconvicted prisoners may wear their own clothes unless

they are a category A prisoner, on the way to

court or likely to escape

Pay: The rate that prisoners get paid is not subject to the minimum wage. The average is

£9.60 week (30p and hour)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7444313.stm

Life inside: Watch and listen

1. Where does he work?

2. How much does he get paid?

3. What does he spend it on?

4. What does he have in his cell?

ADD TO BOX C

A prisoner who breaks prison rules - for example by assaulting someone or having a banned item in

their cell - is normally punished. The punishment will depend on the offence.

What happens if a prisoner breaks the rules

• Kept in their cell for up to 21 days (adults) or ten days (young offenders)

• Given up to 42 extra days in prison on top of their original sentence

• The prison can also take away the prisoner’s privileges by: stopping extra visits from family and friends, removing a TV from their cell, deducting pay the prisoner earns working in the prison

• Should prisoners have access to TV’s, games consoles etc?

• Should prisoners receive minimum wage for the work that they do?

• How does educating prisoners fit with the purpose of prisons in the UK?

• What are the benefits of keeping prisoners occupied throughout the day?

• Do we have a responsibility to provide opportunities for prisoners?

What do you think?

The Ministry of Justice predicts by 2015 there will be 93,900 people in prison in England

and Wales

How effective are our prisons?

b) Explain three reasons why people

may say prison is too lenient (6 marks)

c) Present a case in favour of making prisons harsher

(12 marks)