Quakers talk prisons with shadow minister
‘Once we heard that Ruth Cadbury was shadow minister for Prisons, Probation and Parole, QICJ was keen to make contact and explore common ground.’
The Quakers in Criminal Justice (QICJ) group met with Quaker Ruth Cadbury, Labour MP for Brentford and Isleworth, last month.
Melanie Jameson, clerk of QICJ, told the Friend: ‘Once we heard that Ruth Cadbury was shadow minister for Prisons, Probation and Parole, QICJ was keen to make contact and explore common ground.’
A meeting finally took place between Ruth Cadbury and Melanie Jameson on 14 February at Portcullis House. ‘The areas covered related to Ruth’s three-part brief, but I started with some overreaching issues, namely the pervasive nature of ‘Adverse Childhood Experiences’ throughout the population seen as offenders, and the necessity of a trauma-informed approach,’ said Melanie Jameson. She also stressed ‘the savings’ made by engaging in preventative work. These savings include ‘human misery and billions of pounds linked to reoffending’.
‘We hoped that Labour would shift away from punitive rhetoric on retribution, and discard the false image of deterrence, and instead, look at evidence-based solutions from the UK, Europe and beyond, and implement ground-breaking reviews, starting with the Corston Review (on women who offend).
Having established our credentials – from United Nations’ specialists to ex-governors – it was important to bring out what QICJ could offer, in terms of networks and Restorative Justice expertise.’
Prison overcrowding, squalid conditions and staff training and retention were at crisis point, said Melanie. ‘Perhaps overcrowding could be eased by moving out the mentally-ill to a more suitable environment (as happens with some sex offenders). The rejection by the government of recommendations to resolve the scandal of Imprisonment for Public Protection was raised.
‘Probation was another under-resourced area with staffing problems that could be improved by reestablishing the local dimension of the Service. Our concern about the Parole Board linked to threats to its independence.’
Finally, Melanie brought in voices of lived experience, both of prisoners and staff, which highlighted deep failings. ‘The former felt “the Scandinavian approach was humane and ours is not”, and a staff member lamented: “We have water coming through roofs, ceilings falling down and repairs are not done for years. The buildings are not fit to live and work in”.’
A full report is available at https://www.qicj.org/updates.html.
Comments
I’m reminded that what is unsaid can be as significant as what is said.
So a discussion with Ruth Cadbury MP the shadow minister for Prisons, Probation and Parole and Quakers in Criminal Justice (QICJ) completely avoids the issue of men in women’s prisons.
The link in the article to the full report doesn’t work, but it can be found here.
https://www.qicj.org/doc/Ruth Cadbury Meeting.pdf
By Ol Rappaport on 7th March 2024 - 9:18
The hyperlink in my comment doesn’t work either! You need to cut and paste the complete link:
https://www.qicj.org/doc/Ruth Cadbury Meeting.pdf
By Ol Rappaport on 7th March 2024 - 9:23
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