UK prison reform

This week Britain's prime minister backed justice secretary Ken Clarke's proposal to reduce the number of shorter prison sentences in exchange for community punishments and rehabilitation measures. 

Community punishments that involve the local population in deciding on what offenders should do is a step in the right direction, because a relational approach to justice starts with the premise that every crime represents a breakdown of relationship between the offender and victim, and between the offender and the community. 

Custodial sentences exacerbate relational breakdown as prisoners are separated from their partners and children, often leading to family breakdown, and are kept in an environment of abuse and violence.  On release they find it very hard to reintegrate into the community they come from, and alienation from family and community is more likely to drive them back to offending.  

The more the criminal justice system considers the relational infrastructure around prisoners, seeking to strengthen not erode it, the more effective it might become in reducing the reoffending rate (notwithstanding the role of drug addiction).