I was imprisoned for 12 years for a crime I did not commit. During my containment I obviously became very aware of the numbers in jail who were mentally ill and prison was NOT the place for them. When I first went to prison in 1993 staff had more time to devote to those who needed one to one attention but because the prison population has increased so rapidly and because the way prisons are run now those who are most vulnerable slip thro' the net. All prison does now is merely contain and it has become a paper exercise - too much time now has to go to filling in paperwork to satisfy the Home Office, the Government and the public. Prison does not work and until the Government listen to those who know what they are talking about, i.e Lord Ramsbotham and Ann Owers then more deaths will sadly follow. It is not good enough to send people to jail and think that is it - many in prison need serious help to resolve their problems and whilst the numbers in jail keep rising this cannot be achieved. Drugs are at the root of many offences, yet prisons cover up their drug problems. It does not suit an individual prison to admit they have serious issues with drugs within their jail. It is more important to hide the problem in order to 'fit' the statistics! Lets see prisons become a place of assistance - what could be a valuable time is now a waste of time, money and energy.

I was imprisoned for 12 years for a crime I did not commit. During my containment I obviously became very aware of the numbers in jail who were mentally ill and prison was NOT the place for them. When I first went to prison in 1993 staff had more time to devote to those who needed one to one attention but because the prison population has increased so rapidly and because the way prisons are run now those who are most vulnerable slip thro' the net. All prison does now is merely contain and it has become a paper exercise - too much time now has to go to filling in paperwork to satisfy the Home Office, the Government and the public. Prison does not work and until the Government listen to those who know what they are talking about, i.e Lord Ramsbotham and Ann Owers then more deaths will sadly follow. It is not good enough to send people to jail and think that is it - many in prison need serious help to resolve their problems and whilst the numbers in jail keep rising this cannot be achieved. Drugs are at the root of many offences, yet prisons cover up their drug problems. It does not suit an individual prison to admit they have serious issues with drugs within their jail. It is more important to hide the problem in order to 'fit' the statistics! Lets see prisons become a place of assistance - what could be a valuable time is now a waste of time, money and energy.