Modified:
01 Feb 2010
by Booji
Vote totals:
Yes:
100%
No:
0%
Neutral:
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DEBATE: BRING BACK PRISON SHIPS?
Posted by: tehexile
Karma:
2102
Our prisons are full but there is little the government can do about it. They constantly create more crimes with jail terms and constantly pile the pressure on judges to give longer and longer periods in prison with minimum sentences. Alongside this there is an unwillingness to release prisoners early, it does not go down well with the public. Despite this booming prison population the government cannot easily and quickly build new prisons. Not surprisingly local communities object to the idea of having new prisons built in their area. The Conservatives solution to this problem is to bring back Prison ships that were phased out in 2005.
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BRING BACK PRISON SHIPS?
Effective against prison overcrowding.
By both re-opening existing prisons and opening prisons in locations where they can easily be built without using up space or asking for permission from local communities, new prisons are accessible and the whole procedure is speeded up.
This is only a quick fix. It isn't tackling the root causes of prison overcrowding. The justice system is fundamentally not succeeding in its aims. The prison ships will fill up just like the other prisons and you can't keep building prison ships indefinitely. The ships were only ever meant to be a temporary measure, they failed, that's why they were shut down.
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BRING BACK PRISON SHIPS?
Not economically viable in the long run.
Prison ships require continual maintenance and if there is a malfunction, everyone will need to be evacuated immediately, unlike a mainland prison which can wait for minor repairs. HMP Weare was decommissioned in 2005 because 'substantial sums of money would need to be spent on the vessel prior to the renewal of its seaworthiness certificate in 2006'. The ship was only supposed to be a temporary solution to prison overcrowding – that was in 2005 and the problem has only got worse, so it is unlikely to remain 'temporary'.
BRING BACK PRISON SHIPS?
Inhumane.
If it has been used as a troop ship and to house oil workers before without complaint, surely it is acceptable for prisoners. It is only supposed to be a short stay prison, meaning that it does not have to be suitable for long term accommodation and so access to educational and training facilities is less important. Maybe its reputation as being an especially harsh prison will act as a good deterrent.
According to Michael Spurr, then director of operations with the prison service, following an inspection of HMP Weare, the last prison ship to be phased out, “The prison would have required substantial investment in the coming years to keep it open and, by virtue of its design, it lacks space and workshops and has severely restricted exercise and education facilities.” It is also "unacceptably cramped and claustrophobic" with no access to fresh air in cells. (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7001668.ece). It seems especially excessive for a category C prison, which wouldn't normally be as high security.
What do you think? Vote on this point below.
BRING BACK PRISON SHIPS?
Hard to persuade people to staff them.
Prisons, by necessity, are already in out-of-the-way places practically impossible to commute to. A boat is going to be even worse. While a local community may not want prisons to be built near them, locals looking for work might be glad of a readily available source. Adjusting to working on a boat requires certain skills that nobody has time to train people for in the middle of a recession. Staff are going to be working in a much more cramped environment where they are at more risk in the case of difficulties with the prisoners or a malfunction on the ship.
BRING BACK PRISON SHIPS?
pirates
can attack ships anytime(even in our zeitgeist).lots of people get sea sick and shouldn't be made to put up with it.
Vote on the overall debate: Bring back prison ships?
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tehexile
|18:03, 27 January 10
|Karma Score: 2102
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tehexile
|18:04, 27 January 10
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tehexile
|18:05, 27 January 10
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tehexile
|18:06, 27 January 10
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tehexile
|18:07, 27 January 10
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tehexile
|18:08, 27 January 10
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NADIA999
|04:57, 01 February 10
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