Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Chris Grayling to review prison regime

 

Theo Usherwood
Thursday 20 September 2012 08:32 BST
Comments
Chris Grayling, who replaced Kenneth Clarke at the Ministry of Justice in the cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, said he had no intention of cutting prisoner numbers
Chris Grayling, who replaced Kenneth Clarke at the Ministry of Justice in the cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, said he had no intention of cutting prisoner numbers (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Prison should not be a place where convicts can fritter away hours on end watching satellite television in their cells, new Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said today.

Mr Grayling, who replaced Kenneth Clarke at the Ministry of Justice in the cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, said he also had no intention of cutting prisoner numbers.

He said he did not want inmates to enjoy prison, telling the Daily Mail the criminal justice system needed to be one in which the public could have confidence.

He said: "I'm bringing a fresh pair of eyes to the job. I'm very mindful of the need to have a criminal justice system in which people have confidence. I think they very often don't have confidence in it."

Mr Grayling added: "Prison is not meant to be a place that people enjoy being in. I don't (want to) see prisoners in this country sitting in cells watching the Sunday afternoon match on Sky Sports.

"Am I planning to reduce the number of prison places? No I'm not. I do not want to set a target to reduce the prison population.

"What I do want to do is bring down the cost of prison. The whole philosophy I will bring to the department is getting more for less."

Mr Clarke had been a thorn in the side of the Tory right, who saw him as a soft justice secretary, who oversaw the scrapping of indeterminate sentences for the most serious offenders, while at the same time apparently embarking on policies aimed at reducing prison numbers.

The decision by Prime Minister David Cameron to appoint Mr Grayling to the brief was seen as a nod to the Conservative right, who have long seen a tough justice system as central plank of any Tory agenda.

But his tough stance on prison numbers, Mr Grayling said he was supportive of Mr Clarke's policies to rehabilitate inmates.

Private firms could be paid according to results, he said, in a nod to a policy introduced by Mr Clarke.

And he also promised to bring an end to the stalking of victims by inmates using social media after they have successfully smuggled mobile phones in to prison.

"It's completely unacceptable," he said. "I've talked to victims of crime who are effectively being stalked by the person who attacked them.

"It is the case that mobile phones are smuggled into prisons. We have powers to take tough action on that front, blocking signals, other ways of clamping down on it."

PA

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in