Yes, I watched both programmes. Although the inmates interviewed appeared depressed and lacking self-esteem what I did find heartening was almost, in fact looking back all of them, I think, were sorry for their crimes and wanted to make a better life for themselves. I was thinking to myself: hold onto that aspiration
as best you can because life could very well be tough when you leave prison.
Years ago I worked with a group of teenage lads in an approved school. I remember on the first day at break time we went out onto the playground and they all stood around not even engaging with each other. I said would anyone like a game of football but they all declined with no enthusiasm at all. Progress in any area with these lads is inch by inch.
Gareth Malone was marvellous in his inter-action with the group, giving them lots of leeway to do their own thing and never condescending towards them in the least. It really appeared to be his toughest challenge to date and most importantly the project gave those involved a well-needed uplift and hopefully an inkling of self-worth.
I agree totally with your observations about Gareth Malone.
One of the things I noted was the amount of recidivism the inmates admitted. I recall - about a year ago - hearing that in the Netherlands many prisons are not full, and this was due to the low level of recidivism. It would appear that education and other methods of developing self-esteem are considered to be very important activities in Dutch prisons and - on release - former prisoners have the skills and attitudes which help them to lead a productive, non-criminal life.
I think that the British prison service suffers from three main problems.
- One is the government's obsession with cost - education and developmental programmes cost money, and clearly suffer from policies like Osborne's austerity.
- The delegation of prison operation to the private sector, I believe, is ethically intolerable. No company should be able to profit from the consequences of the operation of the justice system.
- The third problem is the presence of a largely right-wing press which advocates the use of long sentences and harsh conditions in prisons.
I agree entirely that there are offenders for whom their incarceration should be permanent, But the Dutch experience appears to show that if the period of imprisonment is used appropriately then, perhaps, its cost may be reduced.
Gareth Malone's approach may just be the sort of thing that should be happening in prisons since it is quite likely that inmates may be able to develop some self-esteem.
