7 Conclusion
203. The evidence we have heard has shown
not only the opportunities prison officers have to tackle a prisoner's
offending behaviour but the difficulties prison officers face
in trying to have a positive impact in the current prison system.
Overcrowding, staff shortages and the high incidence of prisoners
with unaddressed mental health, drug or alcohol problems mean
the system is constantly at crisis point, leaving little or no
time to build productive relationships with prisoners. The Government's
policies on 1,500 place prisons, clustering and Workforce Modernisation
are, in our view, likely to further deskill the prison officer's
role to that of a warder and risks devaluing the sense of vocation
which we believe is a significant part of the motivation of many
prison officers. This sense of vocation needs to be encouraged,
nurtured and developed as far as possible rather than, at best,
being taken for granted and, at worst, ignored. Reducing the ratio
of officers to prisoners in pursuit of short-term economic savings
will damage long-term re-offending rates, creating more victims,
more fear of crime and all the social and financial damage that
arises from criminality.
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