Our prison system - Obligations that don’t ever go away

THOUGH protests over education cuts and the spiralling and deeply worrying chaos in the world’s markets will vie for top billing on this week’s news agenda other significant issues still demand our attention and resources.

Some difficulties that cause huge, transgenerational failure in society — inevitably in the poorest and least-educated communities — cannot be resolved without an increased share of state resources, even though our capacity to meet those obligations diminishes almost by the day. One of those failures is how we run our prison system and the deeply negative impact that has on so many inmates.

In his first interim report as the new inspector of prisons, Judge Michael Reilly has expressed deep concern over overcrowding, the prevalence of drug abuse and violence in our jails. He has also, in a finding that indicts us all, expressed concern about the denial of rights to inmates suffering from a mental illness.