With prison numbers heading towards 12000 questions are being asked about the cost. There are a number of issues to consider. Firstly the alarming numbers of people who are being sent to prison when the Sentencing Act itself says there should be the least restrictive outcome. The Sentencing Act has never been implemented in the way it was intended. Section 27 of the Act has been completely ignored. People miss out on electronic sentences for economic reasons. Lack of stable housing. And then at the other end we have the Parole Board applying a restrictive approach to letting people out on parole. Then we have cuts in legal aid eligibility so that people end up representing themselves. Together with the denigration of Defence lawyers generally. It all adds up to perfect conditions for an exploding prison population. And of course the biggest issue of all. The fact the system largely consists of white people putting brown people in jail. Since 1980 the Justice system has just become progressively more arrogant. People are leaving. They have had enough of the oligarchy.
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