Prison and its alternatives

This chapter considers the development of the Prison Service in England and Wales, assesses the impact of the prison environment on the goal of reform and rehabilitation and evaluates non–custodial sentences as a response to crime.

The chapter also analyses the rationale for the merger of the probation and Prison Services within the framework of Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS, which between 2004 and 2017 operated as the National Offender Management Service (NOMS)).

In particular, the chapter

discusses the evolution of the English prison system from the late nineteenth century onwards, devoting particular emphasis to the period since c.1990;

evaluates the nature of the prison environment, seeking to suggest why prisons have traditionally found it difficult to bring about the reform and rehabilitation of inmates;

considers ways other than custodial sentences as responses to crime;

evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of these initiatives;

examines the development of the Probation Service, devoting particular emphasis to the changing role of this agency since the early 1990s including the privatisation of much of its work in legislation passed in 2014 and the abandonment of this approach in 2020;

analyses the rationale for contemporary policy seeking to more closely coordinate the work of the prison and probation services through Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (formerly the National Offender Management Service);

discusses contemporary policy towards prison and its alternatives, in particular with regard to reducing re-offending.