Socio-economic inequality leads to more crime and less effective criminal justice

Our criminal justice system perpetuates and punishes disadvantage rather than helping offenders to reintegrate into society. There is too much focus, and too much money spent, on being tough on crime and not enough on tackling its root causes, including poverty and a range of linked problems such as poor housing and unemployment. However, we know that socio-economic inequality, poverty and absence of opportunity are all drivers of crime. Our per capita prison population is a good proxy for a range of other social indicators.

There are many examples of lack of fair process in the justice system. These include the disproportionate targeting of young black men by the police, cuts to legal aid that leave those without means unable to defend themselves adequately, rules about joint enterprise that disadvantage young black and minority ethnic people, the unjustly harsh treatment of prisoners on remand, the ongoing scandal of prisoners with indeterminate sentences, the use of close supervision centres "that may amount to torture", an inadequate appeals process, and the over-use of custody that affects everyone but has a particularly disproportionate impact on women and vulnerable people with mental health issues, drug dependencies or learning disabilities. The Lammy Review looked specifically at the treatment of, and outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) individuals in the criminal justice system, and found that BAME disproportionality in the criminal justice system costs the taxpayer at least £309 million each year.

The prison population has risen by 70% in the last 30 years. At the same time, 15% of prison officers left the service last year. The prison service faces huge competing challenges, with too many prisoners and not enough staff or resources. These pressures have contributed to the almost total collapse of work, education and training in prisons, and to many prisoners being locked up for 22.5 hours of every day. Pressures will only continue to grow due to a huge backlog of court cases, new sentencing legislation, and 20,000 new police officers. Many prisoners suffer from appalling conditions, especially in older prisons (with something of a postcode lottery in place).