Brixton shows how badly our prisons are failing

If there is one thing that prisoners, the Prison Service, reformers and the Prison Officers' Association can all agree on, it is that Brixton jail is in a parlous state.

If there is one thing that prisoners, the Prison Service, reformers and the Prison Officers' Association can all agree on, it is that Brixton jail is in a parlous state.

Of course, Brixton's problems are entirely typical of many of our Victorian urban prisons. No one doubts that even the most liberal and humane prison regime would find it hard to cope in an institution that must routinely house almost 1,000 prisoners, but which was designed for just 620 - and that by the standards of the 19th century. We should remember that it is only a few months ago that Sir David Ramsbotham, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, affirmed that "there are elements of negative culture of some form or another in 20 per cent of prisons. The attitude I am against is one that sees prisoners as subordinates". One need only refer to Wormwood Scrubs, Holloway and Feltham Young Offenders institution to realise that Brixton is, sadly, not the only bad prison in the land.

But it is one of the very worst. Not for nothing did Sir David announce after his visit last year that "I have never seen such conditions anywhere in this country". It stands out because of its lapses in security, high levels of staff sickness, the absence of an education centre and workshops, and abuse of some of its inhabitants.

So the Home Office did not, as the Prison Officers' Association appears to believe, "pick on" Brixton at random for "market testing". Government ministers such as Paul Boateng were concerned about episodes such as the punishments scandal, in which mainly black inmates were locked in their cells without authority - the so-called "jail within a jail". They were distressed that 30 prisoners had attempted suicide in two months. They were alarmed that prisoners with mental health problems were locked up for 23 hours a day. Things had to change.

Inviting bids from the private sector to run Brixton is not without risks. Privatisation has not had an overwhelmingly successful record. It is unlikely to work without extra resources to reduce overcrowding and improve facilities for rehabilitation. In the longer run, ministers will have to learn that a law and order policy based on boosting the prison population is unworkable.

In the meantime, privatisation at Brixton may - just - prove to be a catalyst for change in a culture that has become grotesque. The prison officers' strike is not only illegal but symptomatic of a stubborn, sullen, arrogant resistance to change. For the sake of all our prisons, ministers must face the prison officers down.