Prison's soft touch

Prison is not supposed to be a soft option – but this is what it is becoming with convicted criminals at Full Sutton Prison, York, demanding "gold-plated healthcare" which exceeds the care available in the local community, according to a highly-critical report.

This latitude – which goes beyond the basic duty of care that the Prison Service must show to every inmate – will give further credence to the view that some serial offenders are not prepared to amend their criminal ways because of the lifestyle that they can enjoy while behind bars.

There will also be disquiet, and justifiably so, at the leniency shown by magistrates when a prison officer was assaulted. The consequence was a riot when the bragging prisoner boasted about his concurrent

sentence, and how it would make no material difference to the overall length of his detention.

Unless criminals are given additional punishments whenever they break the law, or flout prison rules, there is little prospect of the cycle of reoffending being curtailed – even though it is this group of people who commit 90 per cent of all crime in this country. Such "soft

touches" cannot be ignored for any longer.