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We must end the Americanisation of our prison system
The results of privatisation across our justice sector are catastrophic, writes RICHARD BURGON MP
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THE Tories quietly confirmed last week that two new prisons are to be handed over to the private sector to be run for private profit. This is the latest push in what I call the Americanisation of our criminal justice system, where keeping people safe comes second to making profits for mega-corporations.
This news came despite two flagship justice privatisations running aground this summer. HMP Birmingham was brought back under public control after unprecedented failures by G4S and the government was forced to bring an early end to the private probation contracts, despite having handed the private companies £500 million in bailout payments in the past 12 months alone.
This push for privatisation and outsourcing goes hand in hand with austerity. As budgets fall, there is a greater push for the private sector to step in, especially where it is impossible to scrap the services altogether, as with prisons. Nowhere is that clearer than in the Ministry of Justice. It’s the ministry which has suffered the biggest cuts under austerity.
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Britain’s justice system is in disarray due to austerity and a dominant philosophy that pursues criminal justice solutions to social problems. It’s time for the left to provide an alternative, writes MARK BLAKE
