It seems to be the time for brand new policy making, however paradoxically, the time for thought has yet to step into real time: KC has proposed that prisoners ought to be given the opportunity of full time work, and allowed up to £12k a year for so doing.
He has made the suggestion that for those prisoners who agree to work full time, they would be paid in line with the minimum wage, but allowed only to keep £20 a week. The rest it is suggested, should be shared amongst the victims' families, victim groups, and a contribution to the prison service for their upkeep.
If all prisoners joined the scheme it would contribute around £1bn to the economy, and for high category prisoners such as murderers and rapists, the money may be put into a 'pot' for them.
Excuse me for interposing, but it raises several key questions: firstly, how much is this going to cost the Prison Service to administer, and to pay NIC and Income Tax on behalf of the prisoners. Can the Prison Service afford to undertake such an investment on this kind of scale? If so, why are they not building new prisons?
Is this employment likely to be worthwhile? Surely this will be on-site employment due to the risk to the public. Which leads to another important question: is it right to offer prisoners the choice of employment at an hourly rate that meets the minimum wage, when there are millions of unemployed civilians, who do not necessarily have that same choice?
It is entirely wrong to allow prisoners to build up a nest egg for release, or to have any sort of disposable income. Certainly no scheme which would reappropriate these earnings to the families of the prisoners would be considered acceptable. Whilst it is entirely reasonable that the victims be compensated for the subjection to crime, many would argue that the justice system does not go far enough for the majority of victims.
Perhaps these prisoners should be working hard labour without reward? To think that if this idea took off, they would be able to form a union, gives them rights to which some would say they are not entitled to receive.
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