Britain is considering ‘virtual prisons’. This is how they would work: Firstpost

Britain is now considering sending convicts to ‘virtual prisons’.

According to several media reports, criminals in Britain can now serve their sentences at home, virtually under lock and key, instead of in a prison.

The development comes as Britain, which has the highest incarceration rate in Western Europe, faces an overcrowding crisis in its prisons.

This comes after a new building program failed to keep pace with tougher sentencing laws that have fueled a growing prison population.

The prison population in England and Wales reached a record high last month.

Shortly after taking office in July, Britain’s new Labor government said prisons could be full within weeks and that early releases were needed to prevent what Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood described as “a total breakdown of law and order.”

Britain has devised an early release program to deal with the crisis.

But what do we know about the virtual prisons Britain is considering?

Let’s take a closer look:

According to The Telegraph Great Britain, Convicts who fall under this scheme could serve their sentences at home.

Judges could use technology to enforce “jails outside of jails.”

The courts would use GPS tags, smartphones and special watches to ensure that the convicts remain in the ‘virtual prisons’.

The inmates would also be urged when it comes time to meet with their parole officers, take drug treatment courses and do internships.

The virtual prisons will likely be based on the current system of home detention curfews.

Under this program, convicts can be released from prison six months before their scheduled release date and remain in their homes for the remainder of their term.

Basically, prisoners are under house arrest.

According to Daily mirror, Officials are looking to emulate Texas prison reforms, which give inmates credit for good behavior or participation in drug programs to shorten the length of their sentences.

According to the newspaper, the program is considering abolishing prison sentences of less than six months.

This comes after data shows that more than half of adults released after serving less than a year in prison go on to offend again.

Mahmood’s broader vision will also include longer sentences and the use of mandatory minimum sentences, as well as convictions for crimes against women and girls.

A category will also be created for crimes of domestic violence.

Such crimes currently fall under harassment, criminal damage and stalking.

“Theoretically, a judge could order a house arrest,” Mahmood said The Telegraph. “We now have an opportunity to reshape and redesign punishment outside of prison.

“I am sure that the review will want to look at all the different mechanisms that are in place to monitor offenders in the community, to supervise them effectively and then also to manage their behavior towards a rehabilitation activity of which we know that this reduces the chance of rehabilitation. insulting.

“So I’m interested in what punishment outside of a prison looks like. It should still be a punishment, their freedom should still be restricted. People need to know and believe that there are consequences for breaking our laws.”

The idea behind this is to both save costs and rehabilitate convicts.

According to Wiredeach prisoner in Britain costs the country $103,000 a year.

Experts argue that, aside from the costs, prisons simply don’t work.

“Virtual prisons will cost a lot less than jails – GPS tags reportedly cost £9 a day – and that would certainly feel like a severe punishment, with high levels of restriction felt all the more acutely when living with people who roam freely . their business”, the Wired piece noted.

However, the possibility that people in ‘virtual prisons’ could commit crimes against a member of the public was taken into account.

“…virtual prisons will be built as we expand the role of technology in the supervision of offenders. But we have no idea whether we will sleepwalk into a more humane and effective world, or into a dystopian, more expensive world,” the piece concludes.

Britain in crisis

Figures from the Ministry of Justice show that Britain’s prison population now stood at 88,521 in September.

That amounts to almost 150 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants. Prison sentences are around 25 percent lower in France, Spain and Italy and less than half in Germany and the Netherlands. The United States, however, has a much higher rate: 531 prisoners per 100,000.

Many prisons already house two prisoners in cells built for one person, and the body representing prison governors has warned that offenders will soon have to be held in police cells, keeping officers in check and disrupting the wider justice system.

“The new government has inherited a justice system in crisis, with prisons on the verge of collapse,” a Justice Ministry spokesperson said.

“It has been forced to introduce an early release program to stem a crisis that would have overwhelmed the criminal justice system, meaning we would no longer be able to lock up dangerous criminals and protect the public.”

Roughly 1,300 people were arrested over the summer and around 200 people have been jailed so far after days of rioting that followed the murders of three young girls in the northern English town of Southport, further increasing pressure on prisons.

Under the early release plan, which was approved by parliament and will come into effect on September 10, most prisoners will be eligible for release after serving 40 percent of their sentence behind bars, up from 50 percent currently.

Prisoners who are released can be returned to prison if they reoffend or breach other conditions of their release, and those serving a prison sentence for serious violent offenses of four years or more are automatically excluded from the scheme.

With input from authorities