Prisons are harmful places, our director in Financial Times

The Centre's director, Richard Garside, is quoted in today's Financial Times, arguing that Britain's criminal justice system has become more punitive.

Despite falls in the official crime rate, he argues, there has been a 24 percent rise in prison sentences – both immediate and suspended – over recent years.

Richard told the Financial Times it is 'fantasy to think that prisons can be meaningful places of reform and rehabilitation'. He added:

'Prisons are harmful places of despair and misery, for male and female prisoners. They are harmful places too for prisons officers, who experience higher levels of stress, and earlier deaths than those in comparable professions'.