The most important element in any planning exercise is the availability of high quality information. If the extent of a problem is uncertain then effective planning suffers and public waste becomes inevitable. That is the situation now facing Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan in relation to Government plans to build extra prison places, according to a study by Ian O'Donnell, head of the Institute of Criminology in UCD.
In a paper entitled Stagnation and Change in Irish Penal Policy, Dr O'Donnell argues that Department of Justice figures which estimated there would be a need for 5,000 prison places by 2011 are simply wrong. This estimate formed the basis on which the Government authorised a new prison-building programme with a significant number of extra places. But the number of prisoners and the committal rate peaked in 2004 and has since fallen. At the same time, there is growing public awareness that prisons are inappropriate places in which to detain people with mental illness, juveniles, fine defaulters and illegal immigrants. In other words, the demand for extra places is likely to diminish rather than increase.
Many jails were built in Victorian times and are totally inadequate in terms of structure, facilities and services. There is, therefore, an unquestionable need for a modernisation programme. But building additional cells which will not be needed represents unacceptable waste. It reflects the input of vested interests and a traditional, crisis management response by Government. As with health services, special funding for headline-driven issues takes the place of rigorous planning.
Apart from establishing the likely demand for detention places by analysing sentencing statistics and the use of restorative justice and community work programmes, there is a need to decide what we wish to achieve by putting people in jail; who should be sent there and what reforms are required. A final report on the prison system by the late Dermot Kinlen found it to be dysfunctional and lacking in educational, psychiatric and rehabilitation services. The money voted for prison cells could be used to address some of these shortcomings.
We live in a relatively law-abiding society, in spite of growing gangland violence and unpredictable stabbing incidents. We have the lowest number of prison inmates per capita within the EU. The cost of keeping them there comes to €2,000 a week. Half of those involved are jailed for minor offences and they are likely to be recommitted within four years. That level of recidivism represents a huge waste of public money and human potential. It is a scandal that needs to be addressed.