Too many criminals are sent to prison and punishing them in public instead could be more effective, the Bishop of Liverpool said today.
The Right Reverend James Jones, the Anglican bishop for prisons, said it was simply not enough to lock up criminals.
He added that community payback schemes could act as a deterrent for others and help to reduce reoffending.
In an interview with a national magazine, Bishop James said it was time to question whether prisons should be “warehouses to store the incorrigible” or “greenhouses to restore the redeemable”.
He went behind bars at three jails – HMP Liverpool, High Down in Surrey, and Forest Bank in Greater Manchester – for a three-part radio series called The Bishop And The Prisoner and said he believes too many offenders were being sent to prison.
Bishop James said: “It punishes and it protects the rest of society from those who are locked up. But that is not enough. If you stop at anger, neither the victim nor society is well served.
“There’s a percentage of prisoners who need to be in prison to protect the public, but a large number could be dealt with in community payback schemes.
“They lose their leisure time. They have to wear jackets to show they are doing community payback so people in the community who are fearful of crime can see they are being punished.
“And it is a deterrent for other people who would not like to be seen in that position.”
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