This week, Colin tells the extraordinary story of his late grandfather to examine the dire state of Britain’s criminal justice system. As thousands of prisoners are released early amid chronic overcrowding, he explores how life behind bars has changed over the past three decades, from the proliferation of drugs and violence to the growing threat of Islamist radicalisation.
But the crisis, Colin argues, runs much deeper than a shortage of prison cells. Tracing the shift from the ‘prison works’ consensus of the 1990s to today’s emphasis on rehabilitation and shorter sentences, he examines the widening gulf between public opinion and the political establishment. Have we lost sight of the fundamental purpose of punishment? And, as criminals walk free after serving a fraction of their sentences, whose side is the law really on?
