Prison ineffective in addressing knife crime

LibDem: Prison largely useless as deterrent to knife crime. The Herald, 24 August 2009 >> article

VIEWPOINT: A snapshot statistic which suggests over 90% of prisoners in Scotland serving sentences for carrying offensive weapons have been in prison previously is a stark reminder that prison serves no useful purpose in this case.

The “short, sharp shock” approach of handing down short sentences is counter-productive and often encourages more aggressive behaviour as these (mainly) young people are exposed to violent offenders in prison. Simply locking people away for a short period without working to address the behaviour which got them there in the first place does nothing to discourage them from further offending.

A great many young people carry knives out of fear of attack on themselves and with the misplaced feeling of security that possessing a potentially deadly weapon brings. Carrying offensive weapons is part of a culture of violent behaviour and it is this culture which must be addressed. Sacro firmly believes that this cycle of violence, particularly among young people, is best addressed through education, information and the involvement of the communities they live in.

Sacro already carries out work with schools to help inform young people in ways of dealing with conflict effectively. Similar Sacro services exist to help address intergenerational conflict and our Street Mediation service helps communities to understand and share their community with groups of young people. Providing services like these with the resources they need to educate and inform young people about dealing with conflict without resorting to violent behaviour will yield much greater rewards than imprisonment ever can.