Let prisoners phone home

‘A society is measured by the treatment of its prisoners,’ Winston Churchill said. Last year, in England and Wales, every three and a half days a prisoner killed themselves. What does this say about our society?

Perhaps you think: why should we care – aren’t there better things to worry about than criminals committing suicide? But the suicide rate in prisons is actually, surprisingly, a measure of the safety of society at large, because those who kill themselves in their cells represent the tip of an iceberg of despair within the prison population. It’s an indication of just how desperate life inside is – and when prisoners are feeling desperate, you can be sure that, when they are released, they are far more likely to reoffend. In fact, feelings of despair and desperation are often quoted as being the predominant motivator for further crime.

How do we stop prisoners killing themselves? It’s a complex task. But we do know that when inmates feel they are part of a world beyond the prison walls they suffer less. I understand it feels like a counter-intuitive aspiration for our criminal justice system: to help prisoners be more connected to the outside world. But loss of liberty is not the same as isolation.

In the current system, prisoners often find that their ties with their family, friends and home communities are severed. It’s difficult to stay in touch for the most part because it’s too hard and too expensive to make telephone calls. If you believe that no one cares for you, then when you walk free, you feel the world is set against you and that to reoffend is no big deal.

After working as the prisons and probation ombudsman for a year, I’ve realised how much it benefits everyone to let convicts phone home.