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Do Prisons Work Essay

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In 1993 the former Conservative home secretary Michael Howard famously said 'Prisons work '. In this essay, I investigate whether I believe this to be true.

England and Wales have the largest prison population in western Europe .with a prison population rate of 148.3 prisoners per 100,000 citizens. Between 1990 and 2016 prison population saw a rise of roughly 90% with an average rise of 3.5% annum. As of the 31st March 2017, the population in prisons and young offender institutions in England and Wales stands at 84,537 currently., as the numbers continue to raise the question is do prisons work? ( http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/SN04334)
To try to answer this question I will look at the pro 's and con 's of prisons, overcrowding in the prison system, the cost of prisons compared to alternative sentences such as fines, community service and probation. I will also look at whether incarceration has a psychological effect on prisoners and if it acts as a deterrence?

Gone are the days ….... History of prisons

Due to the increasing rise in prison population in England and Wales prisons have been overcrowded for decades, it was found that 77 of the 117 prisons were overcrowded as of October 2016, holding 10,442 more prisoners than the prisons 'certified normal accommodation ' (CNA) ( http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/PressPolicy/News/vw/1/ItemID/392) For example, the prison in Leeds which was built to hold 669 men but now hold 1.145 meaning

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